It’s time to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty! Spring is the perfect season to introduce a variety of flowering plants to your garden, not limited to just annual bedding plants. With the warm soil and frequent spring showers, summer-blooming bulbs and tropical bloomers thrive during this time. It’s also the ideal period to plant perennial plants with evergreen foliage, as they tend to establish better in spring rather than fall, especially since winter can be harsh on new evergreens. We’ve compiled a selection of the finest flowers that you can plant this spring for a garden full of blooms all season long. Make sure to wait until the threat of frost has passed before starting your planting, as many plants have been grown in warm greenhouses.
**Ever Sapphire™ Agapanthus**
Southern Living Plant Collection
Botanical Name: Agapanthus hybrid ‘ANDBIN’
Sun Exposure: Part Sun
Soil Type: Organic, medium moisture, well-draining
Soil pH: Slightly acidic (5.5-7.5)
USDA Hardiness Zones: 8 to 11
This semi-dwarf agapanthus shines with clusters of violet-blue flowers on strong stems, perfect for cuttings. Ever Sapphire™ Agapanthus starts blooming in late spring, much earlier than traditional varieties, and continues its floral display throughout the summer. The charming bell-shaped blossoms are a favorite among hummingbirds, bumblebees, and butterflies. Its straplike evergreen foliage brings color and texture to gardens and containers all year round.
**Calla Lily**
Getty Images
Botanical Name: Zantedeschia sp.
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Type: Rich, moist, well-draining
Soil pH: Slightly acidic (5.5-6.5)
USDA Hardiness Zones: 8 to 10
Calla lilies are sophisticated plants with striking foliage and large funnel-shaped blooms called spathes, which encase the true flowers inside. The spathes come in a range of colors from pure white to deep, velvety purple, with variations in yellow, pink, orange, and red hues. The large, arrowhead-shaped leaves grow upright before gracefully arching, giving the plants an elegant vase-like appearance.
**Garden Jewels™ Gerbera Daisy**
Southern Living Plant Collection
Botanical Name: Gerbera jamesonii hybrids
Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil Type: Rich, moist, well-draining
Soil pH: Slightly Acidic (5.5-6.5)
USDA Hardiness Zones: 7 to 10
Known for their finicky nature, gerbera daisies, especially in the hot, humid South, are now challenged by the new Garden Jewels™ Gerbera varieties, selected for their enhanced garden performance, including improved heat
Transform any garden into a tropical paradise with Cannova® canna lilies. Featuring lush foliage and vibrant blooms, these tropical plants can create a striking focal point or be planted en masse in sunny garden beds. With their compact, upright growth habit and dense branching, Cannova® canna lilies provide a bold impact in both gardens and containers. The Cannova® series offers a range of colors including red, yellow, peach, orange, and pink, blooming earlier than other cannas and continuing to flower until the first frost.
Say farewell to sprawling lantanas with the Little Lucky™ series from the Southern Living Plant Collection. These dwarf lantana varieties may be smaller in size, but they pack a punch with their colorful blooms that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Thriving in hot and humid conditions, these plants can withstand periods of drought.
Garden peonies, such as the ones in the Getty Images collection, are cherished for their large, fragrant blossoms and beautiful foliage. These late-spring bloomers produce flowers up to five inches in diameter, making them ideal for cut arrangements. Peonies are low-maintenance and long-lasting, thriving in well-draining soil with some afternoon shade in hotter climates.
Dianthus Pickables™ ‘ColorPop’ from the Southern Living Plant Collection is a fragrant and colorful addition to any landscape. With blooms in spring and throughout the summer and fall, these plants attract butterflies and bees with their clove-like scent. The raspberry pink flowers also make lovely cut flowers, while the blue-tinged foliage provides year-round color and soil stabilization.
Dahlias come in a wide array of colors, shapes, and sizes, ranging from small pompoms to large dinnerplate blooms. These stunning flowers are a sight to behold, with varying plant sizes and foliage characteristics to choose from. Wait for the soil to warm up in spring before planting dahlias, or in colder regions, dig up the tubers in the fall and overwinter them indoors for the next season.
Million Bells, also known as calibrachoa, mini petunia, or simply million bells, are tender perennials often grown as annuals in containers or as groundcover. These compact plants produce abundant petunia-like blooms in various colors, thriving in well-draining soil with full sun to part shade exposure.
Enjoy hummingbirds flitting among the blooms all the way from spring to frost without the need for deadheading. Plant these flowers in a spot where you can observe these delightful visitors.
**Gladiolus**
– **Botanical Name:** Gladiolus hybrids
– **Sun Exposure:** Full
– **Soil Type:** Rich, medium to moist, well-draining
– **Soil pH:** Slightly acidic to neutral (6.0-7.0)
– **USDA Hardiness Zones:** 7 to 10
Gladiolus is a popular cut flower that provides long-lasting color in both vases and gardens. Blooming late in the summer from corms planted in the spring, Gladiolus plants produce tall, slender flowerstalks that bear funnel-shaped blooms opening one by one. With their long, upright leaf blades, Gladiolus are also known as sword lilies. They grow from bulb-like corms that can be dug up and stored over winter in regions where plants are susceptible to colder temperatures (Zones 6 and below).
**Blanket Flower**
– **Botanical Name:** Gaillardia spp. and hybrids
– **Sun Exposure:** Full
– **Soil Type:** Average, dry to medium, well-draining
– **Soil pH:** Acidic to alkaline (5.5-8.0)
– **USDA Hardiness Zones:** 3 to 9
Blanket flowers are cherished wildflowers for their striking red and yellow blooms that blanket the plants from early summer to fall. Available in both annual and perennial species, along with a wide variety of cultivars, Gaillardias thrive in the heat of summer and are best planted in spring. While perennial species may be short-lived, they often reseed. These native beauties are perfect for pollinator gardens, attracting bees and butterflies.
**Begonia**
– **Botanical Name:** Begonia spp.
– **Sun Exposure:** Partial to full shade; dappled sunlight
– **Soil Type:** Rich, moist, well-draining
– **Soil pH:** Slightly acidic (5.5-6.5)
– **USDA Hardiness Zones:** 7 to 11
An array of begonias grace gardens, from the floriferous wax and tuberous types to the striking rex varieties known for their dramatic foliage. While many begonias are tender perennials, they are often treated as annuals. The innovative Lunar Lights™ series features varieties that push the limits of winter hardiness, with some hardy to zone 7, allowing for years of enjoyment from a single planting.
**Peruvian Lily**
– **Botanical Name:** Alstroemeria spp. and hybrids
– **Sun Exposure:** Full to partial sun
– **Soil Type:** Rich, medium, well-draining
– **Soil pH:** Slightly
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