How can I build a year-round aromatic garden in Zone 10a?

Question

I am building an aromatic garden and looking for some drought-resistant fragrant evergreen shrubs/trees to give me year-round interest.

Winter interest:

1. Osmanthus sweet tea olive blooms in October - March.
2. Michelia champaca blooms in January - March.
3. Daphne odora blooms in Feb - March.

Spring interest:

1. Camellia blooms in January - May.
2. Cherry laurel blooms in February - April.
3. Sarcococca ruscifolia blooms in March-April.
4. Rhododendron/Azaleas blooms in March-May.

Summer - fall interest:

1. Star jasmine blooms in May - June. ​
2. Gardenias blooms in May - July.
3. Some deciduous roses and chrysanthemums.

I am in USDA Zone 10a: to -1.1 °C (30 °F), and all plants are planted outdoor in-ground.

Can anyone help me to find some summer & fall blooming fragrant evergreen plants? Thanks!

Answer 1

Here are a few suggestions, all from this page.

• Banana Shrub, Michelia figo: fragrant, banana-scented flowers. Heaviest blooming in spring, but blooms all season.
• Night Blooming Jessamine, Cestrum nocturnum: small, not very showy, fragrant flowers at night during the summer
• Arabian Jasmine, Jasminum sambac: fragrant flowers from summer into fall, or year round in "warm climates" (unclear whether that includes zone 10a, but probably not as they mention the tropics elsewhere in the description)
• Gilt Edge Silverberry, Elaeagnus x ebbingei 'Gilt Edge': tiny, fragrant, silvery flowers in fall

Answer 2

A great perfumed bloom is white butterfly ginger, Hedychium colonarium. In zone 8 it begins blooming in July, don't know about Z-10. Typically 5 ft tall when blooming. In Z-8 it dies back in winter but is very hardy and trouble free. Scent as strong as gardenia but lasts much longer. Another hardy scented bloom favorite of mine is 4 O'clock, Many gardeners are not impressed, maybe because they are so easy to grow. Invasive in zone 8 . The individual flowers do not have strong scent but several bushes will have a hundred new blooms each afternoon and will be noticeable. Here they are a favorite of hummingbird moths ( in the evening), an interesting visitor. Zone 8 they bloom from late June to fall.