What are the best plants to grow in a garden for dried potpourri, besides lavender?

I am planning to plant a potpourri garden next year in a small, raised space in Southern MN.  Anyone have any great experiences growing and drying plants that smell nice?  I'd like to start with lavender and go from there.  THANKS  :)

Comments

[seandogue]

I don't know whether scented geraniums are suitable for potpourri, but our local horticultural society used to have a large bed containing dozens of various " flavors" and many smelled truly wonderful (even for a big tough manly man like me!). Also, in addition to Angry Redheads' suggestion about pine, if you happen to have Sassafras trees growing nearby, don't forget to harvest some young branches to make shavings...they have a really great scent.

[lizzyastro]

Following the tree theme - cedar is also a nice scent added to these, and for visual interest you can include the cones

[lizzyastro]

Roses - dry the petals
Bergamot (monarda or bee balm) - use leaves and/or flower heads
Dianthus (Carnations or Pinks) - choose well scented varieties and dry flower heads or petals
Jasmine
Something citrus scented - like lemon balm or even dried lemon/orange peel

Any other herbs that you like - rosemary and/or mint maybe?

Hope these give you a start, but essentially anything that keeps an attractive scent when dried should work. 

Lizzy

[AngryRedhead]

Well, there are all the obvious herbs like rosemary and lavender, but you can generally grow anything that has a very strong scent when fresh such as roses (example).  Because of your zone, you'll need to be quite careful about what varieties you plant.  Eucalyptus would be out of the question, but there's a large variety of mints with scents ranging far beyond peppermint and spearmint.  And don't forget about woody notes such as pine which I just adore.  I garden in zone 8B, so I'm not too sure what exactly you can grow there.  However, you should have some good success with wildflowers native to your region.  You can contact the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center for recommendations here, or you can contact your local horticultural extension office and explain your situation and goals.