The Gorgeous Flowering Shrub That Will Make Your Garden Smell Like Fresh Fruit

Putting together a beautiful landscape of shrubs can be a delight for your eyes, but what if you want something that smells as beautiful as it looks? In that case, you're in luck, because one of the prettiest flowering shrubs can also make your yard smell amazing. The sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus), also sometimes called Carolina allspice and spicebush, has unique flowers with a smell that's often compared to a mix of strawberries and tropical fruit. 

Best of all, sweetshrubs are native to eastern North America and are considered quite low maintenance to grow. Landscaping with native shrubs and plants is perfect for bringing birds and pollinators to your yard, and sweetshrub is no different. It is a hit with birds, butterflies, and a variety of other pollinators. One animal that doesn't show much interest, though, are deer, as they rarely nibble on it. This makes sweetshrub perfect for landscaping in areas where other plants and shrubs are quickly eaten away.

Sweetshrubs are one of the best native plants to grow if you live in the Southeast, but they can also grow in many other parts of the country, as they are hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9. They are also tolerant of a wide range of light conditions, and while they grow best in partial shade, they can also handle full sun locations. Their ability to grow in a variety of soil types – as long as they offer good drainage and aren't too sandy — is another reason sweetshrubs are such versatile and easy to landscape with plants. Just be aware that they are not drought tolerant, so you'll need to water them regularly if you don't get much rain. 

With a height between six and 12 feet (and a width of about the same), depending on the cultivar, sweetshrubs can be perfect for everything from privacy hedges to front garden landscaping. You can purchase sweetshrubs as bare roots or young plants from many garden centers and plant retailers. Just be sure to pick a cultivar that is known to smell good, as some sweetshrubs have minimal, or even an unpleasant, scent. You may also need to do some regular pruning on your sweetshrubs after they flower in spring and summer to keep them looking nice, as they are prone to suckering. As a bonus, they also have beautiful yellow fall foliage.