Dramatic rosettes on woody stems. 'Zwartkop' variety has near-black leaves. Stunning in containers.
Huge pendant trumpets release intense evening fragrance over a long warm-season bloom.
Glossy-leaved heat champion (botanically unrelated to true Vinca minor) that blooms through humidity that wilts everything else.
True cornflower blue that almost no other flower can match. Cottage garden classic that self-sows reliably.
Shaggy, crown-shaped flowers that hummingbirds fight over.
Sculptural, crane-like flowers in orange and blue. Unmistakable.
Fiery bicolor pinwheels that bloom nonstop in the worst heat and soil.
Lupine-like spikes on a native that lives forever. Gets better with age.
Star-shaped electric blue flowers that bees go absolutely wild for. Self-sows freely.
Explosive cascades of papery magenta, hot pink, or coral bracts that smother walls, fences, and pergolas with nonstop color from spring through fall in zones 9 to 11.
Long, arching flower wands that butterflies absolutely lose their minds over.
Bright daisy-like blooms in pumpkin orange and gold. Edible petals brighten salads and the plant keeps blooming through cool weather.
Mini petunias that bloom nonstop in hanging baskets. Dozens of color options and no deadheading needed.
Golden cups that carpet hillsides across the state. Closes at night and on cloudy days.
Billowy lavender-blue haze that blooms all season if you shear it back.
Flame-shaped or crested flowers in electric colors that dry beautifully. Heat lovers that thrive in summer.
Grows for decades, then sends up a massive flower stalk up to 20 feet tall before dying. Worth the wait.
A rainbow mix of coneflower colors from a single seed strain. Every plant is a surprise.
The queen of flowering vines. Over 300 species, something for every spot.
Spider-flower with whisker-like stamens and airy blooms. Tall, dramatic annual that self-sows freely.
Tough prairie native with long bloom season and medicinal history.
Bold spikes of tubular red flowers in spring attract hummingbirds before bean pods form.
Grown mostly for dramatic foliage, but the tiny bell flowers are a bonus.
Airy, dancing flowers on thread-thin stems. Effortless cottage garden charm.
The tree of the South. Months of crinkled blooms and gorgeous peeling bark.
Fragrant, walkable ground cover. Bees love it, foot traffic can't kill it.
Glossy leaves and asymmetrical apricot-orange blooms held in tight spikes. Firecracker flower, blooms steadily in heat that wilts other tropicals.
Virtually indestructible perennial with trumpet blooms in every warm hue.
Cheerful desert wildflower that blooms almost year-round in warm climates. Thrives on neglect.
Spicy clove-scented pinks with fringed petals in pink, red, white, or salmon, one of the best long-blooming edgers and front-of-border perennials for sun.
Deep velvety red climber with classic rose fragrance. Repeats reliably on a strong, vigorous plant.
Fuller, double-petaled version of the Knock Out. Same bulletproof performance with more petal count.
Groundcover rose that stays low and spreads wide. Tough, disease-resistant, and constantly in bloom.
Perfect rosettes in blue, green, pink, and purple. Bell-shaped flowers on arching stems. Frost-tender.
Tubular flowers that release sweet fragrance at dusk. A cottage garden classic that attracts moths and hummingbirds.
Glossy evergreen foliage frames intensely fragrant white flowers from late spring into summer.
Bold silvery foliage and large thistle-like buds are both decorative and edible.
Papery clover-shaped pom-poms on wiry stems. Drought-proof, deer-proof, and dries perfectly for winter arrangements.
Large tropical blooms in vivid colors appear repeatedly from spring through fall.
Tubular, nectar-rich flowers with a fragrance that defines summer evenings.
Massive mophead blooms that shift color with soil pH. Showstoppers.
Neon-bright daisy flowers that shimmer in the sun over succulent foliage. Thrives in hot, dry rock gardens.
The shade annual champion. Flowers prolifically where nothing else will.
Elegant sword-leaved perennials with intricate, ruffled blooms.
Wiry stems hold star-shaped flowers in jewel colors. Corn lily, a long-lasting cut flower that closes at night and opens with the sun.
A vigorous twining vine with intensely sweet-scented white or yellow star-shaped flowers, the scent of warm southern evenings.
The rose that changed everything. Disease-resistant, self-cleaning, and blooms nonstop from spring to frost.
Multi-colored flower clusters that bloom relentlessly in brutal heat.
Tall spires of spurred flowers in deep blue and purple. The annual cousin of delphinium, easier to grow from seed and just as dramatic.
Fragrant silver-green mounds beloved by bees and humans alike.
Rose-like ruffled blooms with the vase life of a chrysanthemum. The flower farmer's secret weapon for high-end arrangements.
Glossy vines are covered in showy trumpet flowers from early summer to frost in warm climates.
Bulletproof color all season long. The workhorse of warm-toned borders.
Enormous fried-egg flowers on blue-gray stems. California's largest native wildflower. Spreads aggressively.
Gossamer fine blades ripple in the slightest breeze like living silk. Plant where you can watch it move.
Sweetly scented white blossoms appear intermittently year-round and set thin-skinned lemons.
Fast-climbing vine with trumpets that open fresh every morning.
Sky-blue flowers wreathed in feathery green bracts give way to ornamental striped seed pods. Self-sows freely once you start.
Star-shaped white flowers with green stripes on the back. Star of Bethlehem, naturalizes into drifts that take care of themselves.
Compact cranberry-red with a yellow-green throat and one of the best reblooming habits in the entire family.
The classic window-box geranium. Ball-shaped flower clusters above scalloped leaves. Tough container staple.
Star-shaped flower clusters that hummingbirds and butterflies hit on every pass. Blooms nonstop in heat that stops impatiens cold.
Cascading color for containers and beds. Blooms nonstop until frost.
Spikes of violet-blue flowers above glossy arrow-shaped leaves. Native pond and stream bank staple.
Bushy form with glossy foliage and abundant pink trumpets suited to pots and borders.
Clusters of pink, sweetly scented blooms cover this classic tropical tree in summer.
Sky-blue phlox-like clusters bloom nonstop in warm climates. The blue flower that thrives where most blues melt in summer heat.
Intoxicatingly fragrant tropical blooms. The flower of Hawaiian leis.
Brilliant orange-red blossoms in late spring and summer are followed by decorative, edible fruits.
Succulent-leaved sun lover with silky rose-like blooms that thrives where pavement, rock, or sand defeats everything else.
Flame-orange and yellow flower clusters that hummingbirds and swallowtails cannot resist. Thrives on heat, dies back at frost, returns every spring.
Coral-pink single blooms with a yellow eye on the same indestructible Knock Out frame. Self-cleaning and disease-resistant like the original.
The queen of the garden. Modern varieties are surprisingly low-maintenance.
Vertical flower spikes that hummingbirds and bees cannot resist.
Pincushion blooms on long wiry stems dance over fine foliage. Pollinator magnet that keeps producing if you keep cutting.
Electric red spikes that hummingbirds zero in on. Common bedding plant that earns its spot every year.
Classic white-and-gold daisies that look fresh from a meadow painting.
Vertical flower spikes with squeeze-open blooms. Kids love them.
Flat-topped flower clusters on tidy mounds. The easiest flowering shrub.
Stiff papery flower clusters that dry to keep their color for years. A cut-flower farmer staple for wreaths and dried bouquets.
The most planted perennial in America. Compact, reblooming, and basically indestructible.
Dense spikes of clove-scented blooms in soft pastels. Cool-season cut flower that fills a room with spicy perfume.
Papery petals that already look like dried flowers when fresh. The original everlasting, hanging on long after every other bloom fades.
Bright lemon-yellow single blooms that fade to creamy white. The only Knock Out with real fragrance, and just as bulletproof as the rest.
Honey-scented carpet of tiny flowers. The best living edging plant.
Ruffled, intensely fragrant climbing flowers in every pastel shade. Cool-season annual that hates heat.
Wiry stems topped with purple clusters that butterflies can't resist. See-through plant for layering.
Cheerful native daisy that blooms for months with almost no care.
Loose umbels of starry blue trumpets on tall wiry stems. Western native bulb that thrives on summer drought.
Aggressive native vine with fiery trumpets. Hummingbird highway.
Nodding red hibiscus flowers that never fully open are pure hummingbird candy across the Gulf South.
Fragrant snowball clusters in spring, then berries for birds in fall.
Evergreen mat with periwinkle-blue flowers. Tough shade ground cover.
Velvety blooms in burnished sunset tones with a sweet violet fragrance. The forgotten cottage staple worth bringing back.
Floating jewels that transform any pond. Pads provide shade for fish while flowers dazzle above.
Glossy leaves and nonstop flowers in sun or shade. One of the most reliable bedding plants anywhere.
Highly fragrant white flowers with yellow centers appear in clusters on succulent branches.
Reliable cultivar bearing large red fruits and vivid orange flowers.
Flat-topped clusters on ferny foliage. Thrives on neglect in poor soil.
Clusters of bright yellow trumpet flowers bloom for months in the heat. Southwest staple that takes drought and reflected heat without flinching.
Sword-like evergreen foliage sends up dramatic stalks of white bells. Tough, architectural, underrated.
Easy-grow annual with electric colors. Cut-and-come-again champion.
Tall green spikes lined with bell-shaped calyces. A florist favorite that brings architectural lime-green texture to any arrangement.
Brilliant scarlet semi-double blooms above near-black foliage. The contrast between leaf and flower is unmatched in the dahlia world.
Golden prairie workhorse that lights up late summer meadows.
Short clumping grass with distinctive eyebrow-shaped seed heads thrives in dry soils.
Dinner plate blooms up to 10 inches across in a creamy blush-beige tone florists have built entire wedding industries around.
Screaming scarlet spikes. The most vivid red in the native plant world.
Grown for kaleidoscopic foliage, not flowers. Pinch blooms to keep energy in the leaves.
Endless forms from dinner-plate to pompom. The obsession of flower farmers.
Tall spikes of nodding white bells with a subtle fragrance. Summer hyacinth, the heat-loving cousin of the spring classic.
Velvety dark burgundy waterlily blooms that read almost black in low light. Strong stems built for the vase.
Blazing star. Spikes that bloom unusually from top to bottom.
Cactus-form dinner plate blooms in swirled peach, coral, and yellow with twisting petals. Each flower looks like a sunset in motion.
Burgundy foliage topped with fuzzy rose-colored plumes. Stunning in containers where it's treated as an annual in cold climates.
A cold-hardy hibiscus shrub (Hibiscus syriacus) with big tropical-looking blooms in lavender, pink, blue, white, or wine, opening late summer when most flowering shrubs are done.
Massive blooms rise above umbrella leaves in shallow water. Seedpods are as ornamental as the flowers.
Pure joy on a stalk. Birds love the seeds, kids love the spectacle.
Soft peachy-pink ball dahlia with perfect rounded form. A cut-flower farmer favorite for the way it holds up in arrangements for days.
Rich royal purple dinner plate blooms with formal decorative form. One of the few true purples and a showstopper in late-summer beds.
Tall summer spikes of waxy white blooms release powerful evening fragrance.
Arching stems hold fragrant white blooms with a deep maroon throat. Peacock orchid, the elegant late-summer cousin of the bold gladiolus.
Low mounds of gray foliage are covered in tubular red-orange flowers in late summer.
Clusters of vivid orange-red trumpets bloom from fall through spring. Evergreen in mild climates and a hummingbird magnet in every month it flowers.
Arching, bottlebrush plumes that catch the light. Movement in the garden.
Wrongly blamed for allergies. A vital late-season pollinator magnet.
Bare stems shoot up overnight in late summer topped with fragrant pink trumpets. Surprise lily, naked lady, magic lily, all the same plant.
Succulent leaves, tough as nails. Ages to deep crimson in autumn.
Upright native grass with airy seed heads. Gold and red fall color.