Craving color? Can't wait for spring? Is summer too long to wait for a garden bursting with blooms? We're with you, so we put together a list of plants to add easy, instant color as soon as the spring weather hits. When you're eager to see blooms, butterflies, and bees in your outdoor space, these plants deliver.
Here are our top 10 annual and perennial flowers for bringing life and cheer to your space ASAP. Add them to your wishlist today so you can kickstart your garden with big color as soon as spring settles in. They're all perfect for popping in a container, adding to the front of a border, or tucking into a space in the garden that could use a little "oomph" come spring.
Whether you have a large outdoor space or a small balcony, a few expertly grown, ready-to-bloom plants offer an easy way to make a big impact as you greet a new growing season. Save these for your spring wishlist, and when the time comes to head to your local retailer, remember to look for the green Monrovia pot to get gorgeous plants that are bigger faster, and bloom longer.
10 Best Plants to Add Instant Spring Color to Your Garden
5 Favorite Annuals for Instant Spring Color
SuperCal®
Petchoa
Welcome spring with these large, vibrant flowers that bloom continuously from spring into fall. This incredible hybrid looks superb in containers and hanging baskets. Plus, hummingbirds love them! They offer exceptional garden performance in spite of late spring frosts, rain, or summer heat. Up to 14" tall, 18" wide
Beach Bum
Blue Evolvulus
This award-winning spreading annual provides endless waves of blue flowers. Blooms from spring until frost with no deadheading. This heat-tolerant plant is perfect for spilling over the edge of containers or hanging baskets in sunny locations. Loved by butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees. Up to 6" tall, 12" wide.
Garvinea®
Gerbera Daisy
Gerbera daisies are just the thing for adding bright, cheerful color in spring. Unlike any other Gerbera, the robust Garvinea® hybrids are proven performers in garden beds, borders, and terraces! Expect long-lasting, brilliant color from lush plants that can produce up to 100 flowers from early spring until the first frost. Full sun. Up to 19" tall, 15" wide.
SunBelievable® Brown
Eyed Girl Helianthus
Yes, you can have sunflowers in spring! Add instant color with large, vibrant, nonstop blooms. This award-winning, multi-branching, heat tolerant, non-invasive annual sunflower produces over 1,000 flowers in a single season, from spring until first frost. Perfect for lining an entryway to offer a cheerful welcome or filling containers. Full sun. Up to 32" tall, 40" wide.
Joey Improved
Ptilotus
This eye-catching, unusual plant is much tougher than the soft blooms make it seem, with excellent heat and drought tolerance. Fuzzy, silvery bottlebrush flowers are tipped with hot pink. Excellent in mixed containers with other waterwise plants, or in dry, rocky soil. Full sun. Up to 12" tall, 10" wide.
5 Favorite Perennials for Quick Spring Color
Captain Solo
Calla Lily
Calla lilies are usually easy to find in stores before Easter, so they offer a fantastic option for quick, easy color as spring emerges. Through midsummer, the bright, prolific flowers will bloom above a compact, lush clump of thick, sword-like foliage. Adds an exotic, tropical flair to any entryway, porch, or patio. Plus, they are an easy-to-grow, impressive cut flower. Grow as an annual, perennial, or overwinter indoors depending on where you live. Zones 8-11.
Ice N' Roses®
Rosado Hellebore
You can't talk about spring color without mentioning hellebores! And this one is impressive. The blooms facing outwards, and even upwards, to greet the spring. A delightful cool-season bloomer, a wonderful addition to lightly to deeply shaded beds. Partial shade to sun. 1 to 2' tall and wide. Zones 5-9.
American Pie® Berry
à la Mode Dianthus
A fantastic, easy-care, repeat-blooming perennial that makes an impact in spring. Colorful and delightfully fragrant blooms grow above blue-green foliage on sturdy stems that do not flop. Crisp, pure white flowers have unique magenta centers. Trim back after summer bloom to encourage repeat fall blooming. Full sun. Up to 11" tall and wide. Zones 5-9.
EnduraScape™
Magenta Verbena
Whether grown as a perennial or an annual, this verbena is a fast favorite in any garden or container. This bold dark-pink selection is from the heat- and cold-hardy Endurascape™ series. It beats all for summer performance—staying in flower longer than others, tolerating winter temperatures into the low teens, and reblooming in spring! Excellent powdery mildew resistance. An herbaceous perennial in mild winter regions; treat as an annual elsewhere. Full sun. Up to 12" tall., 24" wide. Zones 7-10.
Baby Pete™
Agapanthus
This unique compact variety blooms weeks earlier than others! Masses of blue flower clusters on upright stems rise just above clumps of short and wide, strap-like, green leaves. Rarely sets seed pods, resulting in a longer bloom period. Splendid along pathways, or in groupings and mixed containers. Partial to full sun. Up to 15" tall, 24" wide; blooms up to 24" tall. Zones 8-11.
Learn More About Spring Gardening and Spring-Blooming Plants
- Best Early Spring Flowering Plants to Attract Pollinators
- Early Spring Shrubs for Bliss and Beauty
- 10 Early-Blooming, Cold-Hardy Plants for Pollinators
- Hellebore Care 101: How to grow the harbingers of spring
- Azalea Care Guide: How to plant, grow, and care for azaleas
- How to Grow Perennial Dianthus
- How to Grow Rhododendron Shrubs in the Garden
- Long-Blooming Perennials for a More Colorful Landscape
- Our Top 10 Gardening Tips for Growing Confidently
- Sign up for the Grow Beautifully newsletter to get seasonally relevant plant recommendations, as well as garden design advice from experts, first access to live webinars, and digital guides.