FLOWERS · 29 SIMPLE GROWING GUIDES

Your own little flower garden.

Roses by the path. Lavender in a pot. English-garden favorites, with simple growing plans for US gardens.

Browse all 29 flowers guides ↓

A FEW PLACES TO START

A sunny pot, a shady porch, or a garden bed?

These three plans suit different places. Compare the space each one needs before choosing a flower color.

French marigold

Compact French marigold

For a sunny front step: grow a compact French marigold in a pot, with faded flowers to snip as the season goes on.

Space
12-inch potAbout 12 inches wide and at least 10 inches deep, with open drainage holes.
Start with
1 compact startChoose a French marigold labeled to stay compact.
Watch for
Extra fertilizer can mean leafy growth with fewer flowers. Start with the enriched mix and follow the guide’s light feeding plan.
View French marigold care steps

Impatiens

Beacon Lipstick Impatiens walleriana

For a porch in bright shade: give one Beacon impatiens its own pot, away from hot afternoon sun.

Space
14 in. wide × 12 in. deepOne draining pot for one plant with an expected 12–14-inch spread. This roomy single-plant layout is an editorial choice; it will not look as full at planting as a multi-plant nursery basket.
Start with
1 nursery plantChoose one rooted Beacon Lipstick Impatiens walleriana. It has high resistance to prevalent downy-mildew populations, but is not immune.
Watch for
A porch roof can keep rain out. Check the pot yourself even on rainy days; a shaded pot can still dry out.
View Impatiens care steps

Panicle hydrangea

Little Lime panicle hydrangea

For a garden bed: Little Lime is a flowering shrub with a permanent place in the ground and room to spread.

Space
5 ft between shrubsAllow at least 2½ ft from its center to the bed edge. This is one in-ground shrub, not a container recipe.
Start with
1 nursery shrubChoose Little Lime (‘Jane’), a panicle hydrangea that reaches about 3–5 ft tall and wide.
Watch for
This is a garden-bed plan. A small patio pot needs a different watering, feeding, and winter plan.
View Panicle hydrangea care steps

A place in the garden.

Flowering shrubs and tall favorites. Each plan tells you how much room to leave.

11 guides

Already growing a rose that looks unwell? Start with the rose rescue checks.

Azalea looking unwell? Start with the azalea rescue checks.

A red Knock Out rose opening its layered petals against a blurred background.Flowers

Shrub rose

Original Knock Out (‘Radrazz’; not Petite or climbing roses)

A flowering shrub to build a garden around.

Space
4 ft between shrubs
Start with
1 nursery shrub
See the growing steps
A conical cluster of creamy white Little Lime hydrangea flowers among fresh green leaves.Flowers

Panicle hydrangea

Little Lime panicle hydrangea

Big summer flower heads on one compact shrub.

Space
5 ft between shrubs
Start with
1 nursery shrub
See the growing steps
An open Krinkled White peony with a single cup of crinkled white petals surrounding bright yellow stamens.Flowers

Peony

Krinkled White herbaceous peony (not tree peony)

White spring flowers worth leaving a place for.

Space
4 ft between plants
Start with
1 root division
See the growing steps
A spike of pale pink foxglove bells with deep burgundy spots inside the open flowers.Flowers

Foxglove

Digitalis purpurea

Tall flower bells for a little garden drama.

Space
6 × 3 ft garden bed
Start with
3 nursery plants
See the growing steps
An open pink hollyhock flower with a deep rose center and pale yellow stamens.Flowers

Hollyhock

Indian Spring hollyhock

Old-fashioned flowers reaching above the fence.

Space
9 × 3 ft garden bed
Start with
9 seeds → 3 plants
See the growing steps
Pink and red tulip flowers rising above broad, blue-green leaves in a garden bed.Flowers

Tulip

Apeldoorn Darwin hybrid tulip

Nine bulbs for a small patch of spring.

Space
2 × 2 ft garden patch
Start with
9 bulbs
See the growing steps
White Shasta daisy flowers with yellow centers and green leaves above a pale container beside a window.Flowers

Shasta daisy

Becky Shasta daisy in a garden bed

White summer daisies from one easy garden plant.

Space
48 in. between plants
Start with
1 nursery plant
Photo cultivar unspecified.See the growing steps
Close-up of violet-purple flowers and dark bracts on an upright May Night salvia spike.Flowers

Salvia

May Night perennial salvia in a garden bed

Purple flower spikes with a simple cut after bloom.

Space
24 in. between plants
Start with
1 nursery plant
See the growing steps
A bed of yellow daffodils in bloom in a park.Flowers

Daffodil

Outdoor garden daffodil bulbs

Fall-planted outdoor bulbs: deep enough to root, left alone after bloom until the leaves fade.

Planting depth
3× bulb height to the base
Start with
A small drift of bulbs
See the growing steps
Rudbeckia fulgida Goldsturm with orange-yellow petals and dark cones.Flowers

Black-eyed Susan

Rudbeckia fulgida, including Goldsturm

Orange coneflower for a sunny bed: Rudbeckia fulgida, not every plant sold as a black-eyed Susan.

Spacing
12–18 in. apart
Start with
1–3 nursery plants
See the growing steps
Purple coneflower blooms with raised orange-brown cones.Flowers

Coneflower

Echinacea purpurea

Purple coneflower for a sunny, well-drained bed: Echinacea purpurea, flowers in summer.

Spacing
15–18 in. apart
Start with
1–3 rooted plants
See the growing steps

A pot full of color.

Pick one plant to start. See the pot size and how many plants or seeds you need.

18 guides
A lavender-blue Arabella clematis flower with recurved petals and pale spreading stamens.Flowers

Clematis

Arabella · non-clinging clematis

Blue-purple flowers with one simple spring cut.

Pot
18 in. wide × 18 in. deep
Start with
1 nursery plant
See the growing steps
Coral-pink zonal geranium flowers held in rounded clusters above scalloped green leaves.Flowers

Geranium

Compact zonal geranium

Classic patio flowers in one easy pot.

Pot
12 in. wide × 12 in. deep
Start with
1 nursery plant
See the growing steps
A pink wax-begonia flower with yellow stamens above glossy bronze-green leaves.Flowers

Begonia

Compact wax begonia

Small flowers for a sheltered, partly shaded corner.

Pot
12 in. wide × 10 in. deep
Start with
1 nursery plant
See the growing steps
White snapdragon flowers with small yellow throats clustered along green stems.Flowers

Snapdragon

Snapshot Rose dwarf snapdragon

Little flower spikes for the cooler part of the year.

Pot
12 in. wide × 10 in. deep
Start with
1 dwarf nursery plant
See the growing steps
Violet-pink impatiens flowers above green leaves in a mulched garden bed.Flowers

Impatiens

Beacon Lipstick Impatiens walleriana

A bright little flower pot for the shade.

Pot
14 in. wide × 12 in. deep
Start with
1 nursery plant
See the growing steps
Purple English-lavender flowers on slender upright stems against a soft green background.Flowers

English lavender

Hidcote English lavender

Purple flowers, sunshine, and a lighter watering hand.

Pot
16 in. wide × 12 in. deep
Start with
1 nursery plant
See the growing steps
A large open dahlia with layered peach, blush-pink and soft yellow petals in a sunny garden.Flowers

Dahlia

Gallery Pablo dahlia

A generous pot of summer color.

Pot
20-gallon planter
Start with
1 nursery plant
See the growing steps
Pink sweet-pea flowers climbing through a cottage-garden border beside an old stone wall.Flowers

Sweet pea

Mammoth Choice Mix sweet pea

Fragrant flowers climbing beside your door.

Pot
20-gallon planter
Start with
6 seeds → 3 plants
See the growing steps
French marigold flowers with dark red petals edged in gold and yellow centers.Flowers

French marigold

Compact French marigold

A bright spot on the front steps.

Pot
12-inch pot
Start with
1 compact start
See the growing steps
Pink zinnia flower with layered petals and small yellow florets around the center.Flowers

Zinnia

Dwarf Zinnia elegans

A small pot of summer color.

Pot
12-inch pot
Start with
1 compact start
See the growing steps
Purple-pink funnel-shaped petunia flowers with darker veins among green leaves.Flowers

Petunia

Compact multiflora petunia

A pot of color for the front steps.

Pot
12-inch pot
Start with
1 compact start
See the growing steps
A yellow Henry Wilde sunflower bloom opening around a dark central disk.Flowers

Dwarf sunflower

Junior dwarf sunflower

A little sunflower, right outside your door.

Pot
12-inch pot
Start with
2 seeds → 1 plant
See the growing steps
A red nasturtium flower with a yellow center among green stems and leaves.Flowers

Nasturtium

Empress of India nasturtium

Two seeds, one pot, and a bright little splash of red.

Pot
12-inch pot
Start with
2 seeds → 1 plant
See the growing steps
A bee visits a pink-and-white cosmos flower with a yellow central disk.Flowers

Cosmos

Renee’s Garden Sonata Mix cosmos

Feathery leaves and flowers to cut for a little vase.

Pot
5-gallon pot
Start with
2 seeds → 1 plant
See the growing steps
Orange and yellow calendula flowers above green leaves in a garden bed.Flowers

Calendula

Bon Bon calendula

One compact plant, with cheerful flowers to keep picking.

Pot
12-inch pot
Start with
1 nursery plant
See the growing steps
A mass of small white sweet-alyssum flowers with yellow-green centers.Flowers

Sweet alyssum

Carpet of Snow sweet alyssum

A small pot of tiny, honey-scented flowers.

Pot
10-inch pot
Start with
1 nursery plant
See the growing steps
Orange, yellow, purple and pink garden pansies flowering together in a dark container.Flowers

Pansy

Upright garden pansy in a cool-season pot

A small pot of color for the cool part of the year.

Pot
12 in. wide × 10 in. deep
Start with
1 nursery plant
See the growing steps
AI-generated illustration of potted moss rose with narrow succulent leaves and pink and orange flowers.Flowers

Moss rose

Ornamental moss rose in a sunny pot

Bright summer flowers for a hot, sunny spot.

Pot
Keep its nursery pot
Start with
1 rooted nursery plant
AI-generated illustrationSee the growing steps

Explore all 77 plant guides →

Season and style. Plant now in fall · Flowers to plant each season · Double flowers · Pastel garden flowers.

ONE GOOD PLACE TO START

Not sure what to grow?

A herb for dinner, flowers by the door, or green on a shelf. Start with the space you already have.

Something I can eat →A little more color →Something for indoors →

Autumn jobs to try next