Who says you have to settle for beautiful flowers only during the summer months? With a little planning, you can enjoy flowers that bloom from spring to summer to fall. And even in winter, many different types of cold-hardy winter bloomers can add color and life to your garden.
A garden with year-round blooms includes many different types of flowers, from annuals, which add instant impact for just one season, to long-lived perennials that return year after year.
Flowering vines can clamber up a trellis or arbor to provide vertical interest, while sturdy ground cover plants solve problems such as protecting hillsides from erosion. Flowering shrubs also have a place in your garden, providing color, structure, and year-round form.
The most important thing to remember is to read the plant tag or description when choosing plants to make sure you're giving each plant the right conditions. Flowers that need full sun, which is considered 6 or more hours of direct sunlight per day, won't bloom well in shade. And shade-loving flowers will fry in the hot sun. Finally, don't forget to select plants that will survive winters in your recently updated USDA Hardiness zone. (Find yours here.)
Read more: How to Make a Pollinator Garden That Actually Works
Whether your garden is big or small, cottage-style or formal, or simply an arrangement of containers on your deck, patio or balcony, read on to discover the most popular types of flowers that will inspire you to start planting!
86 Best Types of Flowers to Plant
1
Forget-Me-Not Flower
When it blooms: Spring
Why we love it: These adorable pink, white, or blue flowers are charming at the front of borders. Make sure to plant one of the native species, Myosotis alpestris, laxa, macrosperma, or verna.
If you chose the non-native species, Myosotis sylvatica, plant in containers or deadhead before it seeds; this plant is considered invasive in some states.
Read more: How to Grow Forget-Me-Not Flowers
2
Daphne Shrub
When it blooms: Late winter to early spring
Why we love it: The sweet scent of daphne flowers is like no other, bringing color and fragrance to the late winter or spring garden. Its pretty blooms remind you spring is coming!
Read more: How to Grow Daphne Shrubs
3
Snowdrop
When it blooms: Late winter
Why we love it: Charming, nodding little heads pop up when snow still is on the ground in northern climates. These darling flowers, which are fall-planted bulbs, are deer and rabbit-resistant, too.
Read more: How to Care for Galanthus, or Snowdrop Flowers
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4
Bearded Iris
When it blooms: Late spring to early summer
Why we love it: Irises come in every imaginable shade from palest pink to deep purple and even nearly black. They're easy-care perennials; plant the rhizomes in the fall, and you'll have flowers for years.
Read more: How to Care for Irises
5
Dahlia
When it blooms: Late summer to fall
Why we love it: The sheer number of varieties of dahlias are astounding. You can grow everything from tiny pom pom shaped balls to dinner-plate sized blooms in every color of the rainbow. They're perennial in the South, but the bulbs must be dug up in the fall in northern climates and replanted in the spring.
Read more: How to Care for Dahlias
6
Winter Aconite
When it blooms: Late winter
Why we love it: Winter aconite is one of the earliest blooming flowers, offering precious nectar to pollinators very early in the season. They're also deer and rabbit resistant. Plant the bulbs in fall for brilliant late winter color.
Read more: 38 Deer Resistant Plants Bambi Won't Go Near
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7
Fritillaria
When it blooms: Mid-spring
Why we love it: Fun bell-shaped flowers nod atop long, grassy foliage on these unique spring bloomers. Plant the bulbs in fall for spring color. Big plus: rodents tend to leave these bulbs alone.
Read more: 13 Best Spring-flowering Bulbs
8
Helenium
When it blooms: Mid-summer to fall
Why we love it: Cheery blooms of orange, gold and sunny yellow make this sturdy perennial a must-have. Even better? Pollinators adore it!
Read more: 27 Perennials and Plants to Keep Your Garden Beautiful
9
Love in a Mist
When it blooms: Summer
Why we love it: Besides its delightful name, Love in a Mist is a striking flower that's also edible! It's grown as an annual but it readily self-sows every year.
Read more: 15 Pretty Edible Flowers for Decorating Your Dinner Plate
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10
Clematis
When it blooms: Spring to late summer
Why we love it: Clematis is a beautiful vine for fences, arbors, and lamp posts. But be patient: it often takes perennials such as clematis several years to get established.
Read more: How to Plant and Grow Clematis
11
Cornflower
When it blooms: Early to mid-summer
Why we love it: The fringed flowers of cornflower add cheery color to summer borders. You'll find them in shades of pink, white, and of course cornflower blue. This annual is easy to grow from seed. Deadhead the blooms to keep the plants flowering.
Read more: How to Deadhead Flowers and Why It's Necessary
12
Bleeding Heart
When it blooms: Late spring
Why we love it: Tiny heart-shaped flowers are reason enough to love this perennial, but the beautiful blooms also offer food for hummingbirds early in the season.
Read more: 17 Showy Flowers That Attract Hummingbirds
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13
Lavender
When it blooms: Summer
Why we love it: This incredibly-scented perennial is gorgeous when planted in large swaths. Make sure you choose a variety that will survive winters in your region.
Read more: How to Grow Lavender
14
Azalea
When it blooms: Spring
Why we love them: These pretty shrubs tell you spring is in full swing. They're gorgeous when planted in masses with other spring-flowering perennials. Some types bloom again later in the season.
Read more: How to Plant and Grow Azaleas
15
Autumn Sedum
When it blooms: Late summer to early fall
Why we love them: This autumn perennial blooms just as everything else is fading in your garden. They are tough as nails, drought-tolerant and you almost can't kill them! Plus, they make long-lived cut flowers and provide late season food for pollinators.
Read more: How to Care for Autumn Joy Sedum
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16
Nasturtium
When they bloom: Summer
Why we love them: These cheery flowers come in fiery shades of red, orange, and yellow, hot pink and salmon. The pretty round leaves and the flowers are edible, too, so toss them on salads and or use them to decorate cakes!
Read more: How to Grow Nasturtiums
17
Mandevilla
When it blooms: Spring to fall
Why we love it: This vining plant needs a trellis to show off its gorgeous trumpet-shaped blooms. They come in shades of pinks and reds. You even can bring it indoors to winter it over until next spring, but give it tons of bright light (and expect it to drop some foliage).
Read more: 20 Best Flowering Vines to Add Color to Your Yard
18
Cranesbill
When it blooms: Late spring to early summer
Why we love it: The delicate pink, purple, or white flowers bloom in profusion atop dainty fern-like foliage. Cranesbill is a super-hardy ground cover plant that has a pleasant, minty scent that causes deer and rabbits to leave it alone.
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19
Icelandic Poppy
When it blooms: Spring
Why we love it: The papery blooms of this delightful flower almost don't look real! They come in every color imaginable. Perennial in cool climates, they are grown as annuals in hot regions.
20
Elderberry Shrub
When it blooms: Early summer
Why we love it: Clusters of lacy white or pink flowers appear in early summer. New varieties of this fast-growing shrub boast striking dark burgundy or lemony-gold foliage. It's also deer and rabbit resistant.
Arricca Elin SanSone
Terri Robertson
Terri Robertson is the Senior Editor, Digital, at Country Living, where she shares her lifelong love of homes, gardens, down-home cooking, and antiques.
