Types of Flowers

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82 flowers

African Lily (Lily of the Nile)Agapanthus praecox Bold summer perennial sending up tall stalks of vivid blue-violet globes above strappy ev 🐾 AlstroemeriaAlstroemeria aurea Peruvian Lily / Lily of the Incas, a tuberous perennial with streaked AmaryllisHippeastrum Large-flowered bulb prized for its showy, trumpet-shaped winter blooms AnemoneAnemone coronaria Poppy anemone AnthuriumAnthurium andraeanum Tropical evergreen perennial prized for its glossy 🐾 AsterAster amellus European Michaelmas daisy AzaleaRhododendron spp. Acid-loving spring-flowering shrub in the genus Rhododendron Balloon FlowerPlatycodon grandiflorus A long-lived perennial known for its inflated balloon-like buds that burst open into wide Bearded IrisIris germanica A hardy rhizomatous perennial prized for large, often fragrant flowers in late spring BegoniaBegonia x semperflorens Compact, mounded, fibrous-rooted bedding plant with fleshy stems BellflowerCampanula persicifolia Elegant spires of open BellflowerCampanula spp. Cup-shaped blooms in lavender-blue and white that ring the midsummer border with effortle Bigleaf HydrangeaHydrangea macrophylla Mophead & lacecap shrub; bloom color shifts with soil pH Bird of ParadiseStrelitzia reginae A bold Black-Eyed SusanRudbeckia hirta A cheerful Blue FlaxLinum perenne Delicate sky-blue Blue Salvia (Mealycup Sage)Salvia farinacea Upright violet-blue flower spikes blooming nonstop from early summer to frost 🐾 Border ForsythiaForsythia × intermedia Bold golden-yellow flowers burst open on bare arching branches before any leaf appears 🐾 Busy Lizzie (Garden Impatiens)Impatiens walleriana The shade garden's workhorse Calla LilyZantedeschia aethiopica Hardy white arum 🐾 CamelliaCamellia japonica Evergreen shrub with glossy, leathery dark green leaves and large showy red, pink Candle larkspurDelphinium elatum Stately cottage-garden spire bearing dense racemes of sky-blue to indigo florets on hollo 🐾 Canna LilyCanna x generalis Bold tropical foliage and vivid summer blooms in fiery reds, oranges CarnationDianthus caryophyllus Clove-scented, double-flowered border perennial in shades of red, pink, white, yellow CatmintNepeta x faassenii A low-mounding, aromatic perennial beloved by bees and notorious for deterring deer ChrysanthemumChrysanthemum × morifolium Compact, clump-forming herbaceous perennial in the daisy family ClematisClematis Climbing perennial vine in the buttercup family with large showy flowers 🐾 Common JasmineJasminum officinale The original perfumer's vine, starry white summer blooms so fragrant a single plant can ConeflowerEchinacea purpurea A clump-forming North American prairie perennial with daisy-like 🐾 Coreopsis (Tickseed)Coreopsis grandiflora / C. lanceolata / C. verticillata A sun-loving 🐾 Cornflower (Bachelor's Button)Centaurea cyanus The electric-blue wildflower of European grain fields, effortlessly self-sows 🐾 CosmosCosmos bipinnatus Showy, low-maintenance annual with daisy-like flowers and fine CrocosmiaCrocosmia × crocosmiiflora / Crocosmia 'Lucifer' Fiery arching wands of scarlet or orange in late summer, a hummingbird magnet that natur DaffodilsNarcissus spp. Spring-flowering bulb with trumpet- or cup-and-petal flowers in yellow, white, and orange DahliaDahlia pinnata Bushy tuberous perennial from Mexico bearing showy late-summer-to-frost blooms in nearly Dancing Lady OrchidOncidium Arching sprays of tiny frilled blooms in warm yellows and burnt oranges that shimmer like DaylilyHemerocallis Tough, adaptable clump-forming perennial whose individual blooms each last a single day Forget-Me-NotMyosotis sylvatica A low-growing spring charmer carpeting borders and woodland edges in clouds of sky-blue Garden PhloxPhlox paniculata A fragrant Garden VerbenaVerbena x hybrida A sun-loving annual workhorse that smothers itself in dense flower clusters from late spr GardeniaGardenia jasminoides Fragrant white-flowered evergreen shrub for acidic, warm-climate gardens GentianGentiana acaulis (Stemless/Trumpet Gentian); genus Gentiana Brilliant deep-blue trumpet flowers rise from low evergreen mats in late spring, one of GeraniumPelargonium x hortorum Zonal geranium 🐾 Gerbera DaisyGerbera jamesonii Bright, daisy-form flowers in warm colors above a rosette of fuzzy leaves 🐾 Globe ThistleEchinops ritro Spiky steel-blue spheres on silver stems, a drought-tough perennial that bees mob from J GoldenrodSolidago canadensis (Canada goldenrod); genus Solidago A native North American prairie and meadow perennial bearing arching sprays of tiny golde Great Blue LobeliaLobelia siphilitica Native wetland perennial bearing dense spikes of vivid blue tubular flowers beloved by bu 🐾 HibiscusHibiscus rosa-sinensis Tropical Chinese hibiscus prized for large IrisIris Hardy rhizomatous perennial grown for showy, often fragrant blooms in late spring LantanaLantana camara Heat-defying clusters that shift color as each floret matures LavenderLavandula angustifolia Aromatic Mediterranean subshrub with grey-green foliage and fragrant purple-blue flower s Lenten Rose (Hellebore)Helleborus × hybridus (syn. H. orientalis hybrids) Winter-tough shade perennial with nodding 🐾 LilacSyringa vulgaris Cold-hardy, intensely fragrant spring-blooming shrub prized for its dense purple, white Lily (true lily)Lilium spp. (genus Lilium; includes Oriental hybrids, Asiatic hybrids, L. longiflorum, L. orientalis 'Stargazer') Summer-blooming bulb; Oriental types richly fragrant Love-in-a-MistNigella damascena A cool-season annual prized for its spidery, thread-like foliage that envelops sky-blue LupineLupinus polyphyllus (and Russell hybrids, Lupinus × hybridus) Tall, stately spires of pea-like flowers in every color of the cottage-garden rainbow 🐾 Madagascar JasmineStephanotis floribunda Intensely fragrant white bridal vine for conservatories, warm climates 🐾 MagnoliaMagnolia grandiflora Large broadleaf evergreen tree with glossy dark green leaves and very large MarigoldTagetes erecta Sun-loving annual with large pompom-like blooms in gold, orange, and yellow on aromatic Mexican SunflowerTithonia diversifolia (page main text) / T. rotundifolia (page infographic) A fast-growing warm-season annual bearing vivid orange-red daisy-like flowers that blaze Mock OrangePhiladelphus coronarius / P. x virginalis A classic fragrant shrub with pure-white MoonflowerIpomoea alba A night-blooming tropical vine with giant Morning GloryIpomoea purpurea / Ipomoea tricolor Vigorous twining annual vine bearing trumpet-shaped blooms in vivid blues, purples, pinks 🐾 Moth OrchidPhalaenopsis An epiphytic tropical orchid grown almost exclusively as a houseplant PeonyPaeonia lactiflora A clump-forming herbaceous perennial prized for large 🐾 PetuniaPetunia x hybrida Free-flowering, often fragrant warm-season bedding and container annual PoppyPapaver Genus of about 100 herbaceous annuals and perennials grown for showy, papery RanunculusRanunculus asiaticus Persian buttercup, prized for tightly ruffled, rose-like 🐾 RoseRosa Fragrant, full-sun garden shrub grown for its iconic blooms in nearly every color. Russian SageSalvia yangii (syn. Perovskia atriplicifolia) Airy silver-stemmed perennial smothered in lavender-blue spires from midsummer to fall 🐾 Scarlet SageSalvia coccinea A hummingbird magnet bearing brilliant red tubular blooms from early summer until frost Shasta DaisyLeucanthemum x superbum Classic white-petaled perennial with golden yellow centers 🐾 SnapdragonAntirrhinum majus Cool-season garden annual with tall spikes of two-lipped snapping flowers in nearly every SnowdropGalanthus nivalis A low-growing late-winter to early-spring bulb bearing solitary 🐾 SunflowerHelianthus annuus Tall, fast-growing annual with large daisy-like flower heads that follow the sun 🐾 Sweet AlyssumLobularia maritima A low, mat-forming annual prized for dense mounds of tiny Tiger LilyLilium lancifolium A vigorous, easy-to-grow Asian lily bearing pendulous TulipTulipa spp. (incl. Tulipa gesneriana hybrids) Fall-planted, spring-blooming bulb; needs winter chill ViburnumViburnum spp. (genus; principal species include V. opulus, V. carlesii, V. x burkwoodii, V. plicatum, V. dentatum) A four-season genus of 150+ species valued for fragrant spring flower clusters Virginia BluebellsMertensia virginica Sky-blue spring ephemeral that colonizes woodland floors and stream banks before vanishin YarrowAchillea millefolium A tough, aromatic perennial with flat-topped flower clusters in a wide color range 🐾 ZinniaZinnia elegans Heat-loving annual cut flower in the daisy family, prized for prolific

The Amen of Nature is always a flower. Oliver Wendell Holmes

A garden looks like it is showing off for us. It is not. Almost every flower is really an advertisement, aimed at one tiny customer: the bee, bird, moth, or fly that carries its pollen. The colour, the smell, the shape, even the hour it opens, are all there to catch one kind of visitor. A few flowers even fake the smell of rotting meat to trick flies. Others hide glowing patterns only a bee can see. Once you know who a flower is for, you can almost read it like a sign.

This is a big part of the reason there are so many different types of flowers. There are thousands of pollinators, and each one likes its own colours, smells, and shapes, so over millions of years flowers spread out into countless forms to match them. The huge range of types of flowers in this guide is, in part, a huge range of customers.

The colours of flowers

Colour comes first, because it is the first thing a pollinator sees. A flower builds its colour from a few natural pigments: one family for reds, pinks and purples, another for yellows and oranges. White flowers work differently, scattering the light back rather than using a white pigment, the way snow looks white. Colour is also a message aimed at a particular eye. To a bee, red looks almost black, while birds see red beautifully, so a bright red flower is usually built for a bird, and a blue or purple one is usually calling a bee. Tap a colour to see what it is made of and who it is really for.

Why true blue is so rare

Fewer than one flower in ten is truly blue, and there is a good reason. Plants have no easy way to make blue. A flower has to take a reddish pigment and tune it just right, lining up the acidity, a few helper molecules, and a touch of metal all at once. Nudge any of it off and you get purple instead. You can watch it happen with a hydrangea: it turns blue in soil that frees up a metal called aluminium, and pink in soil that locks it away.

Why some flowers smell and others do not

Smell is the second invitation, for when colour is not enough, and it is timed to the visitor. Light, sweet scents drift through the day for bees and butterflies. Heavy night perfume pours from pale flowers like jasmine and moonflower, guiding moths through the dark. A few flowers pull a nasty trick: the giant rafflesia and the starfish-shaped stapelia smell like rotting meat on purpose, so flies turn up expecting a meal and leave dusted in pollen. Bird flowers usually carry little scent, because birds hunt by sight and barely use their noses.

Why flowers are shaped so differently

A flower's shape is a lock, and only the right visitor holds the key. A long, thin tube hides its nectar at the very bottom, where only a hummingbird's beak or a moth's long tongue can reach. A wide, open flower is the opposite, an easy landing pad for a bee or a beetle. Butterflies like a flat cluster they can stand on while they sip. The shape sets which visitor can feed, and saves the reward for the one that will carry the pollen on.

The hidden patterns only bees can see

Look closely and many flowers have lines or a dark centre pointing straight at the nectar, like the lights along a runway. The strangest part: some of these patterns are invisible to us, yet they glow under ultraviolet light, which bees can see and we cannot. A flower that looks plain yellow to you might show a bold target only a bee can read.

When flowers bloom

Timing is a signal too. A flower gains nothing by opening when its pollinator is asleep, or when every other plant is in bloom and the bees are spoilt for choice, so flowers spread across the calendar. Tap a season.

Plant on purpose

Inside a flower

For all their variety, most flowers are built to the same plan. The same handful of parts appears, in some form, in the rose on a table and the weed in a pavement crack. Tap any part to see what it does.

Nature loves exceptions: these are strong tendencies, not strict rules. Plenty of flowers welcome every visitor, some are pollinated by the wind, and a few make their colours with different pigments entirely.

SourcesUniversity of UtahUC Berkeley Botanical GardenOregon State UniversityUniversity of Illinois ExtensionUMass Amherst

Some blooms are worth knowing simply because they break the rules. Every fact below is checked against botanical sources such as Kew and Britannica.