Best scented foliage for festive decorations – 7 enchantingly fragrant evergreens that encapsulate Christmas

When we think about the holiday season and wintertime, there are specific scents that are always front of mind. Spiced cloves, warm cinnamon, and earthy patchouli evoke comfort and homeliness. I have Diptyque’s ‘feu de bois’ burning most evenings, and let's not forget the invigorating and unmistakable hit of pine that you get from a real Christmas tree.

Pine is by no means the sole festive greenery with a distinctive scent, however. When it comes to choosing scented foliage for Christmas decorations, there are so many more varieties to consider. I’m a trained floral designer, and one of the most important aspects of the job when creating Christmas installations for clients is to select beautiful foliage that will last and adds a subtle scent to your designs. Providing that extra sensory element can really elevate designs to the next level.

Often when we talk about scented evergreens, it’s their blossom or flowers that carry the scent. But all the options I’ve picked out have fragrant leaves, which really do captivate the senses when brought into your home as a mantel garland, or draped over a banister. Here is my selection of seven scented evergreens, which I think are perfect for your Christmas foliage ideas.

Eucalyptus

There are many different varieties of eucalyptus - all of them are evergreen and all are scented, but some, arguably, smell nicer than others.

My top choice for scent, shape and form is Eucalyptus cinerea, more commonly known as ‘silver dollar’. I don’t know a single florist who doesn’t love it, and for good reason. It releases a distinctive, fresh fragrance from its minty-colored leaves, which intensifies when it is brushed against.

The lengthy, arching branches of silver dollar create wonderful shape and movement, and look effortlessly stylish when hung as a garland or displayed in a large, statement vase.

Other varieties of eucalyptus to look out for are the smaller leafed ‘baby blue’ and ‘populus’ - a berried variety with flatter, oval-shaped leaves. Both are versatile greenery choices, and the 'populus' berries add extra texture to any Christmas foliage decorations.

The one variety I would avoid is ‘parvifolia’, which has much smaller leaves. Still beautiful to look at with its wispy branches, but its scent is a little on the bitter side.

Balsam fir

Balsam fir is well known for its aromatic needles, with this fresh, woody scent gracing many candles, essential oils and room diffusers in the wintertime.

The foliage is fantastic for use in Christmas wreaths and fireplace decor ideas because it holds its shape and color for weeks out of water. It's also much better at hanging on to its needles than other types of fir.

You don't need much of it to create a full display. Combine with a different texture of evergreen, such as berried ivy or eucalyptus, for a professional look.

Bay

If you're looking for more unexpected scented foliage for Christmas decorations, add bay. The long branches and turgid leaves are very strong and will add architectural structure, not to mention great coverage, to your designs.

I have a medium-sized bay tree in my backyard, and every year I prune huge branches off it to use in Christmas wreaths. It always comes back strong and grows vigorously for the following year. The glorious sweet, herbal scent is released as soon as the first branch is cut. An added bonus of growing a bay is you also get aromatic leaves to use year-round in cooking.

If you're cutting from your own or a neighbor's tree (with permission, of course), try to only prune the more mature branches, as any fresh, younger growth will not be as strong and may wilt. You can find bay tree plants at Walmart.

Rosemary

The heady scent of cut rosemary in my studio is a sure signal of fall and winter. If I'm using it in a bouquet, I love to run my hand over the stem to remove some of the lower leaves, giving me an instant hit of warming herbal fragrance.

Rosemary benefits from a good prune every year to keep the plant from becoming woody and growing too large, so it's a win-win if you grow one in your own yard. Super hardy and tolerant of poor soil, it is a must-grow for me.

Rosemary can dry out quicker than some other evergreens when indoors, so avoid this one in mantelpiece garlands if you'll be having lots of open fires over the holidays.

Blue spruce

Blue spruce simply has to be included when it comes to a list of the best scented foliage for Christmas decorations. It's my go-to festive greenery for its exquisite shape and stunning color.

The silvery-blue needles can be a little prickly to the touch, but if rubbed they release a fresh, woody and pine-like scent. The branches are large and thick, so in order to cut them to size with ease you will need some strong pruners. I always opt for Felco in my tool kit - these Felco pruners from Amazon are great if you are looking to invest in a pair for creating your Christmas foliage creations.

Blue spruce will benefit from a light spritzing indoors every few days to keep it from drying out.

Pine

What list of the best scented foliage for Christmas decorations would be complete without pine? It is a simply stunning foliage, with thin, aromatic bristles forming in draping clusters to give a whole different level of movement and texture to festive foliage designs.

Cut pine branches release a resin, which will make your hands sticky (though highly fragrant), so you might opt to wear gloves when handling this foliage. These gloves from Amazon would be ideal.

If you find branches with the pine cones still on, leave them for an added textural bonus. If not, you can add pine cones (these small pine cones from Amazon are perfect for decorations) into your design in clusters for a natural effect.

Cedar

Cedarwood is another natural scent that appears in abundance in home fragrances, such as room sprays and candles.

The foliage itself is a lighter, lime green shade than many of the other evergreens in this list, and I love it for its movement. It is a lot less turgid than spruce and bay and will drape in different directions, making it ideal for wreaths (as shown in the image above) and entryway garlands.

Gentle swathes of clustered cedar branches covered in fairy lights and pine cones would be my go-to for a front door garland.

If this has inspired you to gather some festive foliage for your Christmas decorating ideas, you might be interested to discover some beautiful and beguiling Christmas color schemes to help you plan your bauble scheme.