7 Best Garden Flowers To Plant This Spring, Ranked

As spring quickly approaches, many are looking forward to the chance to get back into their gardens. Wondering which flowers to plant this year? Look no further! The blooms on this list are sure to brighten up your outdoor space. Get your hands dirty and ring in spring with the best garden flowers the pros recommend planting.

Gardening is a great way to get outside, boost your mental health, and beautify your living space or community. With the many health benefits of gardening, we at StudyFinds have compiled research from 10 sites to bring you the top seven best garden flowers most recommended by experts. If your favorite didn’t make the list, be sure to let us know about it in the comments. If we missed your favorite blooms, let us know in the comments below!

➡️ How Our “Best Of The Best” Lists Are Created


StudyFinds’ “Best of the Best” articles are put together with the idea of taking the work out of common consumer research. Ever find yourself searching for a product or service on Google and reading multiple reviews to find items listed across many of them? Our Best of the Best lists are created with that process in mind, with each item ranked by how frequently it appears on expert reviews or lists. With Best of the Best, you are getting consensus picks — making them truly the best of the best!

The List: Best Garden Flowers to Plant This Year

1. Petunias

selective focus photography of multicolored flowers
Petunias (Photo by Emma Gossett on Unsplash)

The bright colors of petunias scream spring. While they grow in a variety of colors, their most common are purple, pink, red, yellow, and white. “With their cascading or upright growth habit, petunias are ideal for hanging baskets, containers, or borders,” notes Gardenia. These trumpet-shaped flowers are also great for attracting pollinators because their vibrant colors last throughout the summer.

If you prefer white instead, the “Petunia Sure Shot White is a regional AAS winner, noted for its superior performance in the Great Lakes area and the Northwest,” says the Family Handyman. This beautiful flower is great for those preferring a more serene look, like in a pot sitting on the front porch. Plus, it is a hardy flower that can withstand various weather conditions of rain, sun, heat, and cold.

The look of these frilly flowers is a longtime favorite among many gardeners. One recommendation from Gardening Know How is “the stunning Superbissima Dark Purple Petunia, which has frilly dark purple flowers that are dark and heavily veined at the throat.” Depending on where you live, it can be grown as a perennial or annual and blooms continually throughout the growing season.

2. Marigolds

orange flowers with green leaves
Marigolds (Photo by Julia Kwiek on Unsplash)

Despite the gold name, marigolds also come in a variety of other colors like red, orange, yellow, and white. Gardening Channel writes: “Originally cultivated for their medicinal purposes in Latin America, the marigold holds distinct spiritual significance to cultures around the world. These flowers have appeared as national symbols and as wedding decorations as well.”

Marigolds are ideal for any garden because they are easy to maintain. Plus, they “repel pests such as aphids and mosquitoes,” notes MSN. Beautiful and useful, marigolds make for a great addition to your flower beds.

Have you seen the marigold known as Siam Gold? According to the Almanac, this variety is “easy to grow from seed, they make a great cut flower and will be in bloom all season if kept deadheaded.” Let us know in the comments if you have ever planted one of these!

3. Geraniums

red flower on doorstep
Geraniums (Photo on Openverse)

According to Gardeners’ World, Geraniums are perfect for border fronts, raised beds, and underplanting larger plants. They come in a variety of colors to choose from. These beauties are ideal garden flowers for anyone.

Geraniums are easy to maintain, an advantage for experienced and novice gardeners alike. Plus, they will continue to bloom for months so you can enjoy their beauty all season. “Dress up your walkway, porch, or front yard with these perky and petite blooms,” recommends Country Living.

The Cranesbill, or Hardy, Geranium is the perfect variety because its “voluminous foliage makes it useful as a camouflage for unsightly faucets, hoses, utility meters, and other foundation eyesores. In autumn, it adds gold and umber shades to the landscape,” adds Gardeners Path. They flourish best in full sun where it can display its beautiful designs and colors of red, pink, purple, blue, and white.

4. Lilies

orange flower in tilt shift lens
Daylily (Photo by Virgil Maierean on Upsplash)

Another broad category of garden flowers is the lily with over 4,000 species. Did you know that the colors of lilies represent different emotions? According to Gardening Channel, “orange represents hatred, yellow represents walking on air, and white represents purity.” So be careful which color you give to someone if they know the meaning.

One species commonly grown is the daylily. “The individual blooms last only for a day, hence the name, but are produced in profusion to give a good display over a number of weeks in summer,” reports Gardeners’ World. The open, trumpet-like design of the daylily comes in a range and combination of colors that include red, orange, and yellow.

MSN reminds us to avoid all species of lilies if we have a cat. These flowers are highly toxic to felines. But if your home is cat-free, consider the beautiful lily options such as the “Stargazer” Oriental Lily. With its striking pink color and unique spots, it’s no wonder this lily is another favorite garden flower.

5. Hydrangeas

pink flowers in tilt shift lens
Hydrangeas (Photo by Connor Moyle on Upsplash)

Join the club! Gardening Know How says the world is obsessed with hydrangeas due to their easy maintenance, resistance to disease, and extensive variety of colors and types. Depending on which of the four main types you choose, various amounts of pruning will be necessary to keep these beauties in bloom.

Did you know that hydrangeas can live up to 50 years? Be sure to plant them between frost times, in spring or fall. “The larger-than-life flower heads blend elegance and charm, adding touches of pink, lavender, blue and white to gardens,” notes Good Housekeeping.

Hydrangeas also come in red, as seen in the stunning “Bigleaf Hydrangea.” The Almanac explains how this particular species “features incredible bright cranberry-red edges that feather into the creamy white centers! Highlighting these gorgeous blooms are dark purple leaves 6 to 8 inches wide.”

6. Roses

Bush of Red Roses Covered with Droplets of Water
Roses (Photo by Илья Ослопов on Pexels)

A classic favorite around the world is the rose, both for cut flowers and garden blooms. Have you heard of the meanings associated with many of the colors? According to the Gardening Channel, “the red rose represents love, beauty, and courage while the white rose represents purity, innocence, and humility.”

Many species of roses bloom between late spring to early autumn. “Rose bushes come back every year, but keep in mind that every rose variety may prefer slightly different conditions,” comments Good Housekeeping.

Recently popular are single-bloom roses, such as the Easy Bee-zy Knock Out. Gardening Know How explains that single-flowered roses are “significantly more valuable to pollinators, who can more easily access the flowers’ pollen and nectar.” So, whether you prefer the common multi-bloom species or the simple single-bloom, be sure to take time to “stop and smell the roses.”

7. Asters

purple flowers in tilt shift lens
Asters (Photo by Rebecca Asryan on Upsplash)

While commonly mistaken for daisies, asters are their own kind of perennial. Flourishing in late summer is a key feature of these flowers, “giving bees and butterflies an important late-season pollen supply,” reports Good Housekeeping.

The New England Aster provides a vibrant purple color that “attracts pollinators,” adds Gardeners’ Path. While technically a flower, this species of aster is often like a shrub if left to grow for long periods. It can even reach heights of up to six feet.

According to Gardening Know How, “Asters also provide much-needed nectar to migrating Monarch butterflies, and serve as host plants to an abundance of native bee species.” Beautiful to look at and good for nature makes it easy to see why asters round out our list of the top seven best garden flowers most recommended by experts. Be sure to let us know your favorite in the comments below!

Gardening Safety Tips:

It is important to keep safety in mind as you garden, though. In an article written by Stephen Hughes, Senior Lecturer in Medicine at Anglia Ruskin University, there are at least four major dangers to consider. Here are simple safety tips he recommends to avoid those dangers:

  1. Cleaning and covering wounds while gardening.
  2. Make sure your immunizations are up to date (especially for tetanus).
  3. Keeping compost bags away from your face when you open them.
  4. Deter rats by not putting cooked food on compost heaps, covering water butts, and setting up traps if you have an infestation.
  5. Set up ladders firmly on even ground away from power lines.
  6. Enjoy having wildlife but leave it alone (snakes can be just as much a danger as rats).

Sources: 

Note: This article was not paid for nor sponsored. StudyFinds is not connected to nor partnered with any of the brands mentioned and receives no compensation for its recommendations. This article may contain affiliate links in which we receive a commission if you make a purchase.


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Comments

  1. Hey, so the photo of the pink peonies in this article about the five favourite flowers are actually roses.

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