27 of the Most Vivacious Colorful Flowers to Plant for a Celebration of Color

Colorful flowers can weave magic in an outdoor space, whether you have a rigid color scheme or find all colors of flowers beautiful, there is a way to incorporate a few colorful flowers in your garden.

The Top 27 Colorful Flowers to Plant in Your Garden for an Energizing Sanctuary

Because flowers have amazing potential, there is no wrong way to invite color into your landscape. To energize a space, fill it with vivid neon blooms. If rich jewel tones are more your style, you have several great floral options as well. Choose the best mix of bright and muted flowers and enjoy the beauty all season long.

1. Common Foxglove (Digitalis Purpurea: Excelsior Group)

Tall spires of striking flowers make an excellent architectural feature in any garden. As biennial perennials, you will only see some foliage the first year. In the second year, the flowers burst forth in shining glory. If you allow your plot of common foxglove to self-seed, it gives the appearance of a long-lived perennial.

2. Lantana (Lantana Camara)

If you look “colorful flower” up in the dictionary, it might just show a picture of multi-colored lantana. Colors including yellow, orange, red, and purple can often be seen in the same flower cluster. If you live in a more temperate climate, you can still enjoy lantana’s colors by treating it as a warm-weather annual.

3. Grape Hyacinth (Muscari Armeniacum ‘Christmas Pearl’)

Spring-blooming grape hyacinth flowers give you the benefit of two shades of violet-blue in a single plant. With a darker blue towards the inflorescence’s bottom, it exudes a sophisticated ombre effect. Because ‘Christmas Pearl’ blooms earlier than other types of grape hyacinth, it is the perfect way to chase away winter’s chill.

4. Viola (Viola Cornuta)

If you are looking for types of colorful flowers to bridge the gap between spring and summer, violas are certainly a candidate. These pansy-like flowers are available in a variety of colors and often feature bi-color patterns. Because they stand less than 12 inches tall, they can fill in where taller flowers are unable.

5. Purple Coneflower (Echinacea Purpurea ‘Raspberry Truffle’)

As a native wildflower, purple coneflower is adaptable to a wide variety of growing conditions. With a pom-pom center and ray-like petals, ‘Raspberry Truffle’ takes the standard purple coneflower to an opulent new level. Although the primary profusion of blooms slows in the fall, you might see the occasional purple flower until the first frost.

6. Tetraploid Daylily (Hemerocallis ‘Aztec Priestess’)

Although daylilies produce extravagantly gorgeous flowers, they are easy to grow. The ‘Aztec Priestess’ variety features a green throat, red-striped orange petals, and just a hint of yellow along the ruffled edge. Adding daylilies to your garden design will result in an exciting splash of color that takes very little maintenance to maintain.

7. Bachelor’s Button (Centaurea Cyanus)

As you can see from the pictures of these colorful flowers, bachelor’s buttons are a great way to incorporate shades of rich blue into your landscape. To add another layer of beauty, birds and butterflies are drawn to these delicate blue flowers. Although they are dainty, they are perfect for cottage gardens and prairie-themed spaces.

8. Floribunda Rose (Rosa ‘Wekplapep’ Scentimental)

Who said that you have to pick between red or white roses? With this bi-color rose, every single bloom features a unique pattern and infuses your garden with energizing color. Floribunda roses have long been a classic garden staple, and are available in timeless colors like red, yellow, pink, and apricot.

9. Spring Crocus (Crocus Vernus ‘Pickwick’)

Spring crocus is one of the first flowers to bid winter’s cool weather adieu. This variety offers a delicate purple pattern on a crisp white background. Although spring crocus flowers are available in bright yellow and regal purple, the ‘Pickwick’ variety’s intricate striping emphasizes the purple color.

10. Petunia (Petunia)

With steady blooms all season long, it is easy to see why petunias are some of the most popular colorful flowers to plant. Except for black and brown, you can find petunias in any color. Many bi-color options are also available. As a bonus, these low-maintenance flowers also exude a mild fragrance.

11. French Marigold (Tagetes Patula)

Showcasing colors ranging from bright yellow to rich burgundy, marigolds add a zesty sparkle to any landscape. Although the blooms may slow if you experience a hot summer, the flowers reappear in full force as cool weather returns. Marigolds make exceptional borders because they only grow until they reach about 12 inches in height.

12. China Aster (Callistephus Chinensis)

China aster flowers are an easy way to enjoy many-petaled flowers in colors including red, pink, violet, blue, purple, and yellow. Pictures of these colorful flowers show a variety of flower forms including daisy-like flowers to fuller pom-pom-shaped double flowers. If your China aster flowers start getting tall, you may need to stake them.

13. Dahlia (Dahlia)

When planted in groups of at least five, dahlias dazzle. Although they take some extra maintenance like staking and deadheading, dahlias are some of the most colorful flowers you can plant in your garden. Choose among red, pink, purple, orange, yellow flowers, and pink to pick the perfect flower for your color palette.

14. Checkered Lily (Fritillaria Meleagris)

Flowers do not need to have bright in-your-face pigmentation to add color to a garden. Checkered lilies offer a more refined approach to colorful flowers to plant in your landscape. The intricate white checkerboard pattern emphasizes the subdued purple to achieve a unique ambiance. If you enjoy maintenance-free plants, checkered lilies are an excellent choice.

15. Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia Hirta ‘Cappuccino’)

Because black-eyed Susans are a wildflower native to the sweeping United States prairies, they are adaptable to a wide variety of growing conditions. While these flowers are usually yellow, ‘Cappuccino’ features striking copper and burgundy pigmentation. Although these wildflowers are usually considered annuals, they self-seed sufficiently to return year after year.

16. Azalea (Rhododendron ‘Gibraltar’)

As a popular element in many spring gardens, azaleas are available in many colors. What sets ‘Gibraltar’ apart are bright orange flowers so vivid they seem luminescent. This cultivar is so consistently reliable that it was named Rhododendron of the Year in 2009 by the American Rhododendron Society.

17. Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis Sylvatica ‘Victoria Blue’)

Forget-Me-Nots feature a blue so beautiful that it has become iconic. Because these dainty flowers are biennials, they bloom the year after they are planted. For an unforgettable springtime show, interplant with other spring bulbs. ‘Victoria Blue’ is slightly more compact than the species, which means it works better when used as a border.

18. Blanket Flower (Gaillardia Aristata Barbican Yellow Red Ring)

Cultivate a carpet of color from springtime to early fall with this native wildflower. Because it produces an abundance of persistent flowers with very little water, it is an eco-friendly way to bring color into your garden. In some Native American cultures, finding a patch of blanket flower was thought to bring good luck.

19. Bee Balm (Monarda Didyma)

Because bee balm attracts butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees, it brings more than brilliant red flowers to a landscape. Plant en masse to enjoy a plethora of pollinators or singly to enjoy a summertime show of bright scarlet blooms. If scarlet does not fit your space, try a bee balm cultivar with pink or lavender flowers.

20. Hollyhock (Alcea Rosea)

With their distinct shape and towering height, it is easy to see why Hollyhocks are a mainstay in traditional garden design. Pictures of these colorful flowers show a variety of available hues including white, red, pink, and yellow. To give your garden design a little gravitas, use hollyhocks as a border or background.

21. Carolina Yellow Jasmine (Gelsemium Sempervirens)

After winter’s dreariness, spring’s first blush of color is that much more beautiful. As you can see in images of these colorful flowers, vivacious yellow petals and rich green foliage combine to announce an end to winter’s tyranny. Like many climbing vines, Carolina yellow jasmine can create immersive landscapes when given a structure to climb.

22. Scarlet Lobelia (Lobelia Cardinalis)

These intensely red blooms are the perfect types of colorful flowers to plant in places that never dry out completely. Because they love water, they are an excellent candidate for rain gardens and water gardens. A plot of scarlet lobelia will also entice hummingbirds and butterflies to visit your garden.

23. Columbine (Aquilegia Vulgaris var. Stellata ‘Ruby Port’)

With flowers that emerge in a rich ruby jewel tone, ‘Ruby Port’ is a French heirloom that adds some majestic glamor to your garden. As a standard in many gardens, columbine plants are excellent colorful flowers to plant to attract hummingbirds. If rich red does not fit your style, columbine is available in a wide variety of colors.

24. Sunflower (Helianthus ‘Happy Days’)

Sunflowers offer unparalleled yellow excellence in late summer through early fall. Images of these colorful flowers often show an expansive brown disc with ray-like yellow petals. However, sunflowers can be found in a wide variety of flower shapes and colors. Like the example shown here, some sunflowers feature impressive double flowers.

25. Bearded Iris (Iris Germanica)

Although bearded irises bloom only for a single month, their impressive flowers fill a garden with color. These types of colorful flowers are available in many colors, forms, and patterns so you can choose a flower that is exactly right for your space’s color scheme.

26. Bigleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea Macrophylla)

In most plants, genetics determine the flower color. However, for the bigleaf hydrangea, you can change the flower color by amending the soil. Alkaline soil will bring forth blue blooms while acidic soil will produce pink flowers. Depending on your soil, the hydrangea flowers would be any shade between blue and purple.

27. Love-Lies-Bleeding (Amaranthus Caudatus)

If you enjoy featuring a variety of unique flowers next to the evergreen trees in your garden, try a plot of love-lies-bleeding. As you can see in images of these colorful flowers, love-lies-bleeding produces pleasing pink waterfalls. These trailing flowers retain their color when dried, making these plants a valuable addition to cut-flower gardens.

27 Remarkable Types of Colorful Flowers to Plant for the Perfect Mix of Classics and Fresh New Friends

As you plan which colors will go where, keep the blooming timeframe in mind. If you prefer to see certain color combinations such as blue and yellow, pick flowers in those colors that bloom at the same time. Like the conductor of an orchestra, you are in command of which notes arrive when.

As in any design project, you will choose which flowers to act as focal points of a space. You can surround colorful flowers with subtler whites to cultivate an immersive garden experience. Of course, if you enjoy taking color to the maximum, go wild with the most vivid colors on this list.