Herbs in the Landscape

Sweet Woodruff (Galium odorata)

Sweet woodruff welcomes Spring with adorable whorled leaves and tiny fragrant star-like white flowers. The dried leaves and flowers impart a vanilla, freshly-mown hay like fragrance. Sweet woodruff will form a dense low-growing ground cover that is about 6-12 inches in height and spreads to .75 to 1.5 feet. In the St. Louis area, it rarely grows more than 6 inches tall. Bright green palmate leaves form whorls around squarish stems. Its tiny white tubular flowers appear as inflorescences above the leaves. It blooms from about April to May in the St. Louis area.

It is a perennial herb in USDA Zones 4-9. Although the foliage usually dies back to the ground in the Midwest, it appears again in early spring. In cooler climates it generally is well-behaved in shade gardens and does not compete much with surrounding plants. In some gardens, it may grow aggressively and spread 18 inches a year, and it can be controlled by easily digging out the plants growing beyond their boundaries. It grows well under trees and shrubs, and even tolerates the juglone found around walnut trees. It can grow in the dry shade under pine trees. Sweet woodruff prefers moist, well-drained, rich, loamy soils in partial to full shade.

This herb looks great in a woodland garden, along the edges of woodlands, in an herb garden, and as an edging plant. It is beautiful when planted with hostas, bleeding hearts, columbine, bellwort, wild ginger, hellebore, and rhododendrons. Sweet woodruff is generally not bothered by pests and diseases. Deer are not attracted to this herb. The fragrant flowers attract butterflies and bees.

In Germany, this herb is traditionally added to Riesling wine for a drink called Mai Wine. Mai Bowle is a punch made with sweet woodruff, sugar, white wine, brandy or cognac, champagne, and fruits such as strawberries and oranges. A recipe for Mai Bowle can be found in the “green and purple” TSLHS Cookbook (1994). The leaves can be used in potpourri and as a household insect repellent to repel moths. Its leaves will make a grey-green dye, and a red dye comes from its roots. It has been used in cheese-making to form curds, which is reflected in its Latin name. The genus name is derived from the Greek word gala, which means milk. The specific epithet means fragrant. Sweet woodruff is native to northern Africa, Europe, and Asia. In the Language of Flowers, sweet woodruff symbolizes grace and humility.