Here are the best low-maintenance flowers for your garden beds or containers.
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Whether youre a new or experienced gardener, sometimes youre just looking for easy flowers to grow.
Colorful flowers all season long not only delight humans, the alsoattract pollinatorssuch as butterflies and bees.
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Just be sure that any perennials you choose are suited to survive winters in yourUSDA Plant Hardiness Zone.
They come in heights ranging from 6 inches to 4 feet tall.
Their bright, cheery colors include pure gold, lemon yellow, and pumpkin orange.
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Marigolds are fairly drought-tolerant once established and will grow in almost any well-draining soil.
Pick up a six-pack of marigolds at the nursery or easily grow them from seed.
Sweet alyssum has clusters of flowers with a honey fragrance, and pollinators adore it.
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It likes full sun but appreciates afternoon shade in warmer climates.
The plants require little pampering other than well-draining soil and watering during dry spells.
Sweet alyssum often self-seeds, so you don’t have to replant it the next spring.
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It has brilliant bloom colors from hot pink to pure orange.
This succulent retains water in its fleshy leaves so its a good choice for hot, dry areas.
It only grows 3 to 8 inches tall and works equally well as a ground cover or inhanging baskets.
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Many types self-seed and will pop up in your garden again next year.
Daffodils come in an array of heights from 4 to 5 inches tall to 2 feet.
Newer compact varieties only grow 12 inches tall.
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Once established, the plants are heat- and drought-tolerant though they need occasional watering when grown in containers.
Butterflies and hummingbirds will flock to this plant.
Many sedums need full sun, and most have colorful foliage that is pretty even when not in bloom.
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Like allsucculents, sedums are drought-tolerant once established.
Most will spread quickly if theyre happy with the conditions.
Sedum grows in a range of climates, from USDA Zones 3 to 9.
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Catmint
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Catmint is a drought-tolerant perennial for USDA Zones 3 to 9.
Pollinators love it, but deer and rabbits typically donta big draw for most gardeners.
There are numerous cultivars in shades ranging from chartreuse to peach to nearly black.
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These perennials are suitable for USDA Zones 3 to 9.
Some varieties tolerate sun, though most appreciate afternoon shade in hot climates.
This annual makes a striking container plant that lasts until frost.
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Most do well in partial shade.
Calibrachoa
Thesefull-sun annualslook like mini petunias, but theyre actually a different genus.
They also stand up to heat and occasional dryness.
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Calibrachoa come in an astonishing array of stunning colors from pale lemon yellow to hot pink and orange.
Mix and match them in hanging pots or window boxes, which display their draping forms to best advantage.
Mandevilla
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Add an exotic flair to your patio with pots of mandevilla.
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This sun-loving,fast-growing tropicalvine is annual in the Upper and Mid-South but perennial in warmer zones.
Its available in pink, red, and white and is a favorite of hummingbirds and bees.
Mandevilla appreciates afternoon shade in hot climates.
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SunPatiens are themost sun-tolerantand wilt-resistant of all.
All impatiens tolerate summer heat and humidity but must be watered regularly.
Asters
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Asters are late summer orfall bloomerswith small, daisy-like flowers.
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Their color palette includes white, purple, pink, and blue.
Most asters are hardy in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 4 to 8.
Zinnias like average, well-draining garden soil and become drought-tolerant once established.
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Deer and rabbits generally leave them alone, but pollinators are attracted by the flowers.
Zinnias do well in a meadow, cutting garden, or summer containers.
They are easy to grow from seed.
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Daylilies
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This summer bloomer opens each flower for one day only.
A big patch (and daylilies do spread) creates a profusion of flowers.
Unfortunately, deer enjoy munching on daylilies.
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The flowers also grow in full sun with adequate moisture.
It will freely seed around your garden.
Many of the types found at garden centers boast big blooms in pinks, whites, and purples.
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Columbines grow in USDA Zones 3 to 9.
Dianthus
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Dianthus is in the same genus as carnations and sweet Williams.
Deadheading encourages more flowering.
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Dianthus looks beautiful tucked into containers or at the base of taller perennials.
Depending on the species, dianthus are annuals, biennials, or perennials.
They thrive in containers filled with rich, loamy, moist soil in full or partial sun.
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Plant them in the fall, and enjoy them for months.
Water during dry spells (in winter, this may rarely occur).
Replace pansies with summer annuals once the temperature rises.
Cranesbill Geraniums
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This under-used perennial has become more popular for good reason.
Hardy geraniums grow in USDA Zones 4 to 8 in average soil with little supplemental watering except during drought.
Colors range from purple to pink, and the low-growing foliage makes an attractive ground cover.
Shear the plants to shape and neaten them, or just let them sprawl.
Black-eyed Susan blooms at the end of hot, humid summers when other plants are wilting.
Finches and otherseed-feeding songbirdsare drawn to the seed heads in fall.
Black-eyed Susan also self-seeds in the garden to keep your fence line looking fabulous.
Avoid planting it in overly rich soil.
Both perennial and annual flowers offer an extended bloom period.
Long-blooming annuals include blanket flower, spider flower, and trailing petunia.
Perennials with a long bloom time are catmint, astilbe, and coneflower, among many others.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension Horticulture.Impatiens Downy Mildew.
