Best Flowers for Every Season

As we find ourselves in the gardening season, more and more people are digging out their secateurs from the shed and putting on their gloves, ready to make their garden look as beautiful as possible for the warmer months.

Planting new flowers is a key part of making a garden look good, but what are the best flowers for each season?

Let Gardenscapes tell you all you need to know.

What are annual flowers?

Annual flowers, put simply, are flowers that grow and live for one growing season, and then produce their seeds and die. Many people opt for annual flowers because their shorter lifespan allows for gardeners to try different types of flowers for their garden. The difference between annual and perennial flowers is that perennials can live for several growing seasons after blooming.

Best Annual Flowers for Summer

Marigolds

Marigolds are fantastic for summer due to their vibrant red, orange and yellow hues, as well as their low-maintenance nature. Make sure to position them in an area that gets as much sunlight as possible, and ensure the soil is well-drained.

Geraniums

Geraniums are another splendid summer flower, with a huge spectrum of colours including pinks, blues, oranges and reds. They thrive in full sun but also benefit from partial shade, and it’s important the soil is well-drained.

Vincas

Vincas, or Madagascan Periwinkles, are an extremely popular choice for summer flowers thanks to their beautiful blue petals and near-constant blooming throughout summer. Full sun, partial shade and well-drained soil required.

Best Annual Flowers for Autumn

Begonias

Begonias bloom big, which is why they’re such a popular flower for the autumn season. They need full sun and well-drained soil, and they’ll reward you with huge displays of colour.

Celosias

Perhaps the most unique flower on this list, Celosias benefit from sturdy petals that don’t fall easily, as well as radiant orange, yellow, pink, and purple shades to ensure they steal the show when planted. Give them highly fertile, well-drained soil and plenty of sunlight to see them flourish.

Petunias

Another brilliantly colourful flower, Petunias blossom in red, yellow, white, blue and even black. Growing up to 1 foot tall, Petunias need full sunlight and well-drained soil to look their best.

Best Annual Flowers for Winter

Stock

Stocks are ideal for lining your garden. Reds, yellows, creams, blues and pinks, combined with the clove-like scent of the flower means Stock is a pleasure for sight and smell. Give them full sun and moist soil to get the best out of them.

Primrose

Benefitting from partial shade and well-drained soil, Primroses will add a beautiful touch of colour to those winter days. They’re late-bloomers with a shorter lifespan, but the wonderful colours are a treat regardless.

Sweet Pea

You provide full sunlight and well-drained soil, and your Sweet Pea flowers will grow to heights of 6-10 feet, displaying their pink, red and white petals for everyone to see.

Best Annual Flowers for Spring

African Daisies

The brilliant African Daisy shows off a fantastic blend of colours on its petals; with oranges bleeding into reds, and a tinge of yellow and purple peering through, too. Full sunshine, well-drained soil, and you’ll have a magnificent flower.

Pansy

Shorter in stature, but resplendent in spring, Pansies are one of the more recognisable annual flowers. Blue, red, yellow, pink, white – you name it, just make sure they’ve got full sunshine and well-drained soil and you’ll see why Pansies are so popular.

Sweet Alyssum

Unlike most flowers in this list, Sweet Alyssum needs a combination of full sun and partial shade along with damp conditions to ensure it looks as good as possible. Whether they’re lining your garden or being picked for a bouquet, they look fantastic when thriving.

Perennials and Shrubs

As well as the bright and colourful flowers we’ve mentioned in this piece, perennials and shrubs are also a fantastic addition to a garden at any point in the year. Shrubs bring a number of benefits in addition to their aesthetic qualities:

Food for birds

Shrubs provide food and shelter for birds, which not only benefits the birds themselves, but adds to your garden by attracting various feathered friends. They’re also attractive to butterflies, so if you like your wildlife, shrubs are a great investment.

Cleaner air

Shrubs actually help to improve air quality in your garden by filtering dust and pollutants from the atmosphere. What’s more, they reduce the level of toxicity in stormwater runoff.

Long lasting

Shrubs can live for years if you plant them in the right soil and maintain them properly.

Perennials

Perennials benefit from a very strong root system which underpins their long lifespan. Over the first season, with proper care, the perennials’ roots will grow deep into the soil, and then in the next season, the flowers will bloom and the beauty of the perennials will be clear to see.

Less maintenance

As perennials last for a long time, gardeners needn’t worry about having to pull up and replant new ones every year. Not only does this save on maintenance, but also helps to save money in lieu of buying new plants for your garden.

They benefit other plants

The roots of perennials help to improve the structure of the soil which, in turn, benefits other plants in the flower bed. The roots themselves aerate the soil and allow water to travel through it more efficiently, so other plants get the nutrients they need easily.

Above are just a few of the best annual flowers for each season. If you’d like to add some of these fantastic flowers to your garden, or if you’ve got grand plans for your outdoor space that you need help with, contact Gardenscapes today. With a wealth of experience providing the highest quality gardening services, including hard landscaping and soft landscaping in Guildford and Reigate, we’re the perfect people to help. Give us a call today and let us take care of the rest.