Five scented plants for November

Aromatic, evergreen herbs like sage and bay are perfect for this, and you can use them in the kitchen to make hearty winter dishes.

For veg, fish and meat recipes, take a look at our herb pots to create, planted up with tasty combinations of herbs to flavour your meals.

Discover five of the best scented plants for November, below.

Sage

This delicious and essential ingredient to sage and onion stuffing brings scent and colour year round. You can also use freshly picked sage leaves to create a warming tea.

Cobaea scandens

This vigorous climber can keep flowering throughout the year, if not killed by frosts. While usually grown as an annual, Cobaea scandens is perennial, so you may be able to keep it flowering if grown in a sheltered spot.

Bay

Often grown as a clipped standard, bay (Laurus nobilis) is a familiar garden plant with a wonderful spicy scent. Use the leaves and berries in culinary dishes and to make festive table decorations.

Viburnum x bodnantense

Viburnum x bodnantense is an excellent shrub, providing structure and colourful autumn foliage, followed by a long season of fragranced flowers. They will usually open in November and last through to March.

Mahonia

Mahonias are robust evergreen shrubs that light up winter gardens with their bright yellow, fragrant blooms. The flowers are also a valuable source of pollen and nectar for pollinators emerging in winter.

More plants to grow for fresh tea

• Mint – lots of mint cultivars with different flavours

• Lemon balm – use the leaves to make a soothing tea

• Chamomile – use the whole flowers and enjoy hot or iced

• Echinacea – use the leaves, buds and roots to make tea

• Passionflower – use the fresh leaves from Passiflora incarnata in tea to relieve insomnia and anxiety

• Fennel – use the seeds and foliage