The Fragrant Perennial That'll Make Your Shady Garden Smell Better Than Ever

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

When planning a garden, most people prioritize layout and appearance above all else. While a garden's visuals are important, its scent is easy to overlook. Many different flowers can create a brilliant-looking garden, but they may produce a scent that's so strong you won't want to spend much time in your outdoor space. Choosing more subtle scents won't just make your garden look beautiful — you'll also have another reason to stay outside and enjoy your garden. If you're looking for something that works well in the shade, is subtle but stunning, and smells good, lily of the valley may be just the plant you need.

Lily of the valley (also known as May bells, Mary's tears, Our Lady's tears, and Convallaria majalis) is a great plant for your garden. It's not the only fragrant flora out there — marigolds, for example, are pollinator-friendly flowers that work wonders in a vegetable garden — but its smell is unique. It emits a pleasant, floral, grassy fragrance that still manages to be muted rather than overwhelming.

This makes it not only a great perfume fragrance but also an amazing plant for making your whole yard smell delightful. In addition to its beautiful scents, lily of the valley is easy enough to grow. It's hardy in zones 3 to 9 and mostly takes care of itself. While it has preferences, it can adjust to most climates and soil types once established.

Lily of the valley is a wonderful plant to grow in your garden under certain conditions. They are hardy and are one of several shade-loving perennials that will brighten up shaded areas of your garden. Unfortunately, the same thing that makes the lily of the valley easy to grow is also what makes it slightly problematic. Lily of the valley is a beautiful plant to have, in theory. However, you need to be a little careful when it comes to planting it in your yard. They can become invasive, easily taking over a whole garden if not cut back regularly. The entire plant is also poisonous, so those with children need to watch their kids around it. 

If you're hesitant, you may want to try a few fuss-free plants that are great for garden beginners before taking on such a difficult flower. Or you can use a few tried-and-true methods of keeping them contained. For one, you can surrounded them with a barrier that extends 18 inches below the soil. You can easily do this by planting lily of the valley in a pot and then burying most of the pot underground. 

If you want a simple solution, there are products called root or rhizome barriers which work great at keeping more invasive plants contained. Bamboo Shield, for example, is made specifically to stop bamboo from spreading, but it also works well for aggressive spreaders like lily of the valley.