15 Houseplants That Can Help Make Your Home Smell Fresh

We know houseplants look good and can perk up any interior space with greenery and flowers, but did you know some some varieties can also help your home smell fresher? If you want a burst of fragrance as well as foliage, we've got you covered. Here are some of the best-smelling plants that you should add to your windowsill today.

As it turns out, you've actually got a plethora of scents to choose from. Some houseplants smell fragrant and flowery, like orchids or gardenias. Other plants offer more herbaceous flavors, such as rosemary, basil, or sweet bay. Some, like eucalyptus, bring a minty twist. No matter what kind of fragrance you like, you can find just the right plant that's best for you and your nose. Remember, some of these don't just help the air smell fresher — they may even clean mold and improve your home's air quality, too.  

Of course, picking the best houseplant isn't just about which one smells the best. Before buying one, always consider what kind of light and space it'll need, so you know if it's a good fit for your home. Keep in mind how much regular care (such as watering and fertilizing) that each variety calls for. If your plant isn't thriving, it probably won't smell as good. Still, if you want some ideas on how to ditch artificial air fresheners for live plants, the consider one or two of these 15 houseplants that'll keep your home smelling its best.

Many orchids offer a rich fragrance, but few smell the same. There are almost as many different kinds of scents as there are orchids. Some orchids, such as 'Lady of the Night', have strong flowery aromas, while others, like 'Hand Carrying Oncidium' and 'Bi Xing Chen' have a bright, citrusy fragrance. 'Sharry Baby' smells like rich chocolate. Of course, not all orchids smell good. One variety, 'Leon' might give a whiff of dirty socks. 'Bravo' is said to smell like rotting meat.

If you want something that smells earthy and herbaceous, try growing rosemary. This perennial evergreen does well in containers. You can even train your herb to grow like a mini Christmas tree that you can enjoy all year round. In fact, if you prefer that your rosemary smells like pine, pick the 'Pine Scented Rosemary' cultivar that should remind you of spruce. Fun fact about rosemary: Research published in Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology in 2012 found that its scent might help improve your memory. To try this out yourself, grow rosemary in a cooler spot indoors. 

Know for flavoring tea and rice, jasmine can also help the air in your kitchen smell fresh. For a strongly scented cultivars, try 'Grand Duke of Tuscany' or 'Angel Wing,' which also grow easily in containers. If you want to help set a mood in the evening with a fragrance that amps up after sunset, then try 'Crape Jasmine.' Whether it's evening or day, to ensure your plant develops the most sweet-smelling flowers, make sure to water regularly and feed this houseplant twice a month with a fertilizer containing phosphorus. 

If you want the air to smell a little spicy, then grow sweet bay (Laurus nobilis). It'll give your home a kind of spicy, honey-like scent. Of course, the strongest fragrance will come if you crush its leaves. Sweet bay thrives in containers as long as it has a lot of sun. Make sure to repot the plant every so often, as it's likely to eventually outgrow its pot. You can also train this plant to grow like a topiary with the right kind of pruning.

The tropical plumeria (Apocynaceae spp.) shrub offers fragrant flowers and can be grown with little fuss indoors. Just make sure it has lots of sun and well-draining soil. Opt for coarse, grainy soil, similar to a potting mix designed for succulents or mix in perlite for best results. This fragrant flower can come under attack from spider mites, one of garden pests that The Farmer's Almanac can help you identify. So keep an eye out and try a soapy insecticide at the first sign of unwanted visitors.

You might be more familiar with the sweet and earthy smell of patchouli (Pogostemon cablin) concentrated in incense or candles. But growing the plant in your home means you can have the unique woodsy fragrance on hand all the time. It gets its smell from the mint family, Lamiaceae. If you want a stronger version of the fragrance, use dried leaves and stems to make your own concentrated oil. To get the best-smelling leaves, put this perennial herb in a spot where it gets partial sun.

Known as a fragrant evergreen, gardenias (Gardenia jasminoides), can thrive indoors, but they need a little extra care — like bright, indirect light. Only put them near a window as long as there's a nice gauzy curtain to protect them. They don't like air too hot or too cold, since their sweet spot (pun intended) is between 65 and 70 degrees. Gardenias also prefer high humidity, so setting them on a pebble tray with water might be a good idea. 

To keep things smelling fresh, look no further than minty, camphor-like eucalyptus. You might already have some of its leaves in potpourri or even in dried arrangements in your house, but you can also grow it as a live houseplant. Just know that it can be a little fussy about where it's placed, since it needs lots of bright light. It might not be getting enough light if the leaves begin to twist. Some cultivars need a cool-weather period in the winter when they're not growing, such as Eucalyptus gunnii .  

For fragrant flowers, try planting the hoya (Hoya carnosa) houseplant in a hanging basket. Its unique globe-like blooms will trail out of the basket and freshen up your kitchen, den, or study. This low-maintenance plant will give you little fragrant flowers with little fuss. Just be careful of the cultivar you grow. Some smell better than others. If you'd like a unique fragrance that reminds you a chocolate and vanilla dessert, try Hoya australia. Hoya lacunosa offers a smell that's a little spicier, more like cinnamon.

Not all begonias are fragrant, but species that are, like B. solananthera, can fill a room with a sweet scent. It's no wonder then that this flower, also called Brazilian Heart Begonia, won the Award of Garden Merit, given out by the Royal Horticulturist Society. This plant will thrive in shade or partial shade, which is good news if you've already filled your windowsill with sunlight-hogging plants. The flower known by its white petals and pinkish red center doesn't mind soil a little dry.

Plant wax flowers (Stephanotis floribunda) for very fragrant, white tubular flowers. Sometimes called Madagascar jasmine, stephanotis can not only improve the scent of your home, but its vines can also be shaped on wire for an interesting addition to your decor. In sunny conditions, it'll survive for years, and even can grow vines more than 20 feet long. But if you don't want vines quite that long, then keep the thermostat low, since this plant won't grow as fast in cooler temperatures.

Scented geraniums actually aren't geraniums at all. Technically, they're called pelargoniums, a cousin of geraniums, since they are both members of the Geraniaceae family. Some varieties like, 'Attar of Roses' smells like, you guessed it, roses. If you like fruit-scents, then you're in luck. For fresh, citrus scents, try 'Lemona' or 'Orange Fizz'. Pelargoniums also come in 'Apple', 'Strawberry', and even 'Coconut' varieties.

When you think of basil, you probably only think about the leafy green used to make pesto or season some of your favorite recipes. But basil (Ocimum basilicum) can also smell amazing and help freshen any home with a number of different varieties. From lemon basil to 'Cinnamon', there's almost one for every nose. To make sure your basil thrives indoors, put it in a place with lots of light. Make sure it's in a pot with good drainage as well, since it doesn't like wet feet.

Sweet-smelling white flowers dot the Persian lime (Citrus x latifolia) tree before it grows its citrus fruit. It'll help freshen any home. As a smaller type of lime tree, it'll only grow to be between 4 and 6 feet tall, so it's great to keep indoors. This plant craves sunlight, though, so make sure it gets about eight hours of direct light a day, or more if you're using a growing lamp. This plant will not do well in the shade.

Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) is known for its pleasant citrus fragrance, which is a crowd-pleaser. If you put its pot outside, these pretty flowers will be sure to attract bees and butterflies.  This flower tends to unfurl petals at night, thus its name. It self-seeds, so you might find it keeps multiplying in your container.  Evening primrose does well in full sun or partial shade. Pick cultivars that grow well in pots, including 'Showy', 'Twilight', or 'Pink'.