Fill Your Garden With Fabulous Fragrance After Planting A Unique Perennial

When it comes to planting fragrant flowers in your garden, there is a bevy of options to choose from. You could opt for sweet-smelling, perennial favorites like roses, lavender, and honeysuckle, all of which will bring their own scent signature to your garden. However, if you're looking for something a little different, consider the fabulously fragrant and utterly unique perennial that is baneberry.

Part of the Actaea family of plants, baneberry is a large, bushy plant with divided leaves and flower stalks that can often grow up to 8 feet tall. This typically happens during the flowering season, which will occur between April and June, when baneberry attracts numerous beneficial pollinators, especially butterflies.

The strong scent emitted from the baneberry is part of what draws in the pollinators. The tall flowers tend to smell a bit like roses, depending on the variety. Their sweet scent carries herbal undertones and, in some varieties, hints of ripe grapes. It's a very clean smell that will bring a totally new level of fragrance to your garden. It is quite strong, so planting just a few baneberries should do the trick if you don't want it to overtake the other flowers you've planted.

However, there's an important note of caution when planting baneberries. This is particularly important for any gardeners who have pets or children. All parts of the baneberry plant are toxic, but the berries require particular caution. There are two types of baneberry: red and white. Both varieties are poisonous and visually appealing to children and pets.

If ingested, the berries can cause severe symptoms such as stomach distress, burning in the mouth and throat, and even cardiac arrest. It is for these reasons that baneberries are considered among the most toxic plants for dog owners and families with young children to have in their garden.

That said, if you fall into either of those categories, it's important to plant baneberries with caution. The good news is that baneberry is a hardy perennial that can thrive in shade or sun. By growing it behind a fence or in a low-traffic corner of your garden, you can still enjoy its wonderful fragrance without worrying about pets or children.