Although you could opt for a flower garden that blooms in a single color—like all white or all green—showing off the rainbow of shades that nature offers is a more cheerful and vibrant option.
With more than 400,000 types of flowers in the world, there’s no shortage of colors and textures you can add to your yard: Purples and blues so dark they look black, fire-engine reds and lemony yellows, neon pinks and lime greens. Gardening experts share some of their favorite bright blooms to inspire your next garden masterpiece.
Wine Cup
Tiny wine cup flowers, Callirhoe involucrata, are drought-tolerant gems that expand to create a colorful groundcover. “This native perennial is covered with bright magenta, upward facing, poppy-like flowers in mid summer,” says Andrew Bunting, vice president of horticulture at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. “It prefers well-drained soils and can also grow in soils with low fertility.”
Zone: 4 to 8
Size: 4 to 6 inches tall x 36 inch spread
Growing conditions: Full sun; well-drained or dry soil
Canna “Australia”
This striking tropical perennial is hardy in warmer parts of the country, but can be a summer annual in colder areas. “It is highlighted by glossy purple-black foliage and striking fire-engine red flowers that occur throughout the growing season,” says Bunting. “It can grow in any kind of soil, including wet soils.”
Zone: 8 to 11
Size: 6 to 8 feet tall x 18 to 24 inches wide
Growing conditions: Full sun; any soil
Cool Wave Pansy
Pansies add color to your garden with a variety of shades, from purple and orange to white and yellow. Stephanie Zawada of Hoerr Schaudt, a garden design studio, recommends the ‘Cool Wave’ cultivar, a purple, white, and yellow trailing plant for baskets, borders, and groundcover. “You can’t find anything with more flower color for your cool-season window boxes and containers than Cool Wave pansies!” she says. “If planted in the ground, it spreads almost as vigorously as it blooms.”
Zone: 5
Size: 6 to 8 inches tall x 24 inches wide (trailing)
Growing conditions: Full sun; rich, well-drained soil
Mandevilla
This tropical vine shows off oversized, trumpet-shaped flowers in bright red, pink, and white during the summer, says Zawada. “Hybrid varieties offer even more color choices of apricot, peach, and yellow, and tend to be bushier,” she says. “Grow this plant on a trellis or massed on its own in a planter.”
Zone: 8 to 11
Size: Up to 20 feet tall x 15 feet wide
Growing conditions: Full to partial sun; rich, well-drained soil
False Indigo
False indigo, a drought-tolerant perennial, typically comes in blue or yellow—both fun choices for a colorful garden. But Decadence-brand hybrids offer shades in other hues. “Indulge in the deep, decadent Dark Chocolate for an added layer of depth, add drifts of candy floss clouds with Pink Truffles, or punctuate a planting with the sun-kissed bronze of Cherries Jubilee,” says Hayden Regina of Hoerr Schaudt, a garden design studio.
Zone: 4A to 9B
Size: 36 inches tall x 36 inches wide
Growing conditions: Full sun; average, well-drained soil
Coral Charm Peony
Coral Charm peonies change color throughout their growing season, from raspberry to apricot to cream, says Regina. “The Coral Charm Peony has become a florist favorite over the years for the way the color shifts day-to-day, giving a feast for the eyes unlike any other,” he says. “It’s a perfect addition to your cutting garden or mixed perennial border.”
Zone: 3 to 10
Size: 24 to 36 inches wide x 24 to 36 inches tall
Growing conditions: Full sun; fertile, well-drained soil
Butterfly Weed
Citrus-toned butterfly weed improves the vibrancy of your garden in two ways: it offers colorful blooms and attracts pretty pollinators. “This native perennial is one of the keystone species and food sources for the Monarch butterfly,” says Bunting. “Throughout the summer it has vivid, bright orange flowers that sit atop the foliage.”
Zone: 3 to 9
Size: 24 inches tall x 24 inches wide
Growing conditions: Full sun; dry, sandy soil
Bat Face Cuphea
Plants don’t come much more eye-catching than the Bat Face cuphea, with its orange-red “wings” and purple-black “face.” “Don’t let the name scare you—whether a broadleaf evergreen perennial or annual addition in your zone, the cuphea is sure to bring saturation and conversation to your plantings,” says Regina. “Blooming late spring through frost, the peculiar flower shape and gentle arcing habit is the perfect edge planting condition for your garden or containers.”
Zone: 10 to 12
Size: 12 to 18 inches tall x 24 to 26 inch spread
Growing conditions: Full sun; average, well-drained soil
Lollipop Itoh Peony
Hybrid Itoh peonies are a mid-century icon in stunning shades. “A horticultural marvel of the 1960s, when first introduced in America the plants sold for over $1000 each,” says Regina. “Singing in the Rain provides an ever-changing color story, Bartzella offers an electric yellow alternative to standard pinks, and, if you can’t decide, Lollipop will provide the best of both worlds.”
Zone: 3 to 10
Size: 24 to 36 inches wide x 24 to 36 inches tall
Growing conditions: Full sun to partial shade; fertile, well-drained soil
Nasturtium
Bright nasturtiums provide a dose of color to your plate as well as your plantings. “Garnish your next salad with these vibrant, edible flowers that grow in shades of red, cherry, orange, peach, yellow, pale yellow, and burgundy,” says Zawada. “With pretty, round green leaves, nasturtium are easy to grow from seed with dwarf bush varieties that can fit in any garden, or vining varieties that trail in window boxes or containers.”
Zone: 9 to 11
Size: 12 inches to 10 feet tall x up to 36 inches wide
Growing conditions: Full sun to partial shade; well-drained soil
Blue Wonder Fan Flower
Though the fan-shaped flowers on this plant look delicate, Zawada says, they are hardier than they seem. “Available in white, blue, purple, or pink, this trailing annual plant is a knockout in hanging baskets, window boxes, or containers, and can be planted in the ground,” she says. “It just loves hot and humid weather, as long as it’s well watered.”
Zone: 10 to 11
Size: Up to 18 inches tall x up to 24 inches wide (trailing)
Growing conditions: Full sun to partial shade;
Hardy Ice Plant
Delosperma Granita® Raspberry, a hybrid ice plant, is a cold-hardy spring bloomer that thrives in gravel gardens, says Bunting. “Covering the ground and reaching only 4-inches tall, it is covered in stunning fuchsia-colored, star-like flowers from late spring to early summer,” he says.
Zone: 6 to 10
Size: 4 inches tall x 10 to 14 inches wide
Growing conditions: Full sun; well-drained soils
Rose Mallow Hibiscus
Hibiscus Summerific® Holy Grail rose mallow is “a fabulous bold perennial for the garden,” says Bunting. “The foliage is dark purple, and in mid-summer to early fall it is covered in large, upward-facing, bright red flowers, which contrast beautifully with the foliage.”
Zone: 4 to 9
Size: Up to 5 feet tall x 4 to 5 feet wide
Growing conditions: Full sun; any soil type
Midnight Mystic Hyacinth
Up the drama in your garden with rich, purple-black Midnight Mystic hyacinth. The glossy blooms emit the same distinctive fragrance the plant’s more springtime-ready lavander, white, and pink cousins are known for.
Zone: 4 to 8
Size: 7 to 8 inches tall x 3 inches wide
Growing conditions: Full sun to part shade; loose, well-drained soil
Limelight Hydrangea
This color-changing panicle hydrangea is a fast-growing shrub that offers a burst of vivid lime green to your planting beds in spring. As the season progresses, a creamy white plays well with your other mid-summer blooms, and a washed pink complements other late-summer flowers.
Zone: 3 to 9
Size: 6 to 8 feet tall x 6 to 8 feet wide
Growing conditions: Full sun to partial shade; rich, well-watered soil