The Scented Mediterranean Garden

Ten plants, one long season of scent.

We've paired ten sun-loving perennials to bloom in succession from spring through the first frost — so there's always something flowering, and always something to brush past and smell.

Thyme opens the season along the path edges; lavender, sage, and hyssop carry the mid-summer heat; helichrysum releases its signature curry-warm scent on the hottest days; and agastache keeps flowering right up until the cold sets in.

Every plant here comes from the same dry, sun-baked world — full sun, lean soil, little water — grown to thrive in gravel, poor ground, and long droughts without complaint.

It's a bed you plant once and let the ever sunny summer do the rest.