Scenting homes need not be limited just to the interiors. A picturesque and fragrant garden is a pleasure offering much needed respite from the pollution of the city. Mixed floral scents lingering in the air surrounding your home can prove refreshing. 
So what should you grow for a beautifully scented garden? Check out these native species that thrive with little attention!

Rose

The delightfully fragrant and beautiful Paneer Rose
Image - Jaigurunurserygarden.com
An eternal favorite, growing rose plants in your garden is a great way to make it more fragrant.  With so many varieties available, it is important to choose the one most suitable for your local climate. Experts recommend heritage species for home gardens as they are known to survive even brackish waters sourced from the bore wells. 

Rajanigandha

Tall, slender and pleasantly scented, this white flower blooms in clusters. 
Image - Punmiris.com
This perennial plant grows from a tuber or bulb and is a good choice. You’ll find the flower's fragrance quite soothing and relaxing. Do make sure that the plant is well nurtured and supported as the slender stem bears the weight of the entire flowering cluster. You can opt for plant varieties that produce thicker, multi-layered flowers, if you prefer a heavy fragrance.

Kaner

Kaner is a beautiful flower that thrives quite effortlessly
Image - Ecoheritage.cpreec.org
Mildly scented Kaner flowers in pale and dark pink, white, yellow are commonly used for worship. Ornamental varieties in mixed shades too are available. Sturdy and resistant, this plant needs to be regularly trimmed to maintain a short bushy structure. You need to take note that the leaves are known to be poisonous, and due care should be taken to keep kids and pets away from the foliage.

Parijath

Also called Coral Jasmine, the flower has four or eight white petals set around a coral core and stem
Image - Shaileshnursery.com
This divinely beautiful flower with white petals on an orange stalk, is also most suited for worship. Intoxicating, fragrant flowers bloom overnight and tend to fall off at dawn, carpeting the earth around the plant. You’ll need to foster this plant in the shade, with just few hours of exposure to direct rays of the sun. Remember to prevent water stagnation but to water deeply at regular intervals, nourish using compost and prune on a need basis for Parijath flowers to thrive and flourish.

Raat Ki Rani

Din Ka Raja plant when grown alongside Raat Ki Rani is known to ward off snakes!
Image - Jagtapnursery.com
Another evergreen plant with heavily scented white tubular flowers, believed to attract snakes, Raath Ki Rani can be easily grown in containers as well. Do make sure to keep pets and kids away from this plant, all parts of which are known to be poisonous. The plant flourishes well in the shade. You can water the plant when the soil surface gets dry, fertilize once in a fortnight, and trim the plant to shape its contours and keep it healthy and fresh.

 Yellow, white, pink cultivars of Rugmini are also common, some of them are fragant
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There are several other fragrant flowers including the several varieties of jasmines, rugmini, champa, ylang ylang, champaka that can adorn your garden. Not all of them are perennials though. Some of these can be grown in pots, containers or even on your terrace while others need to be planted in the ground as they tend to grow into large trees, when left un-pruned. 

The appeal of Jasmine is quite unique indeed!
Image - Herbalveda.co.uk
Rose or Jasmine are definitely safe bets to start off with. Do try growing some of these fragrant flowers at home and don’t forget to keep us posted on the sweet smelling progress!