��������

Why We Love Pink Flowers in the Garden

Pink flowers are a beloved addition to any garden, offering a delightful combination of beauty and versatility. Their charm goes beyond just aesthetics, though. Here are some considerations to make with using pink flowers in the landscaping and design.

• Pinks can be warm or cool, and they may battle each other, so it is important to check the color’s “temperature” before planting. A pink that has extra red or yellow in it will be on the hot side while one that is heavy with blue or green will be cooler.
• Pink is also influenced by the colors around it. White makes it seem darker, with gray it will look brighter, and green makes it appear redder. Silver-leaved plants or those with purple foliage show off pink well.
• Pink and blue or pink and purple are classic color combos. You can strike the visual equivalent of a musical chord by using three colors that are equidistant on the color wheel, such as blue, yellow, and pink.

20 Pretty Pink Flowers for Your Garden

Brighten up your happy place with some of these pink flowering plants:

Bulbs That Produce Pink Flowers

1. Hyacinths 

Hyacinths will bring welcome beauty and fragrance to your spring garden. Plant bulbs this fall to enjoy for years to come.

• 6-12 inches tall
• Full sun
• Zones 3-9
• Blossoms in early to mid-spring

• 

2. Oriental Lily 

Celebrate the Year of the Lily by growing a ‘Stargazer.’ The large blossoms have dark pink petals edged in white and are 6 inches or more across. Extremely fragrant as a cut flower, it only takes one to perfume the whole house! Plant the bulbs in spring or fall.

•  2-3 feet tall
• Full sun to part shade
• Zones 3-8
• Summer blooming

Learn more about how to grow and care for lilies.

Annuals That Produce Pink Flowers

3. China Asters

The stunning China Aster is an outstanding cut flower. It is available not only in pink but also in blues, purples, and white as well. A packet of mixed seeds will give you a pleasing range of colors that blend perfectly together. There are lots to choose from … We like ‘Sea Star,’ ‘Giants of California,’ and ‘Tiger Paws’ for their 4-inch wide, fully double, shaggy petals.

• 2-3 feet tall
• Full sun
• Summer blooms
• For early flowering, start seeds indoors

4. Cosmos

Cosmos ‘Sensation’ is a summertime staple in the cut flower garden. Easily grown from seed, it responds to cutting by producing even more blossoms. 

For something different, check out ‘Cupcakes Blush,’ which has petals that look like pink paper cupcake liners.

• 3-4 feet tall
• Full sun
• Blooms summer to early fall
• Transplant or direct seed

5. Gomphrena

Gomphrena, also known as globe amaranth, comes in many shades of pink, ranging from hot fuchsia to soft pink. If you can’t decide on just one, ‘Raspberry Cream’ blends various pink hues with creamy white in each blossom. Gomphrena is one of our favorite flowers to grow from seed!

Gomphrena flowers are long-lasting in the garden or a vase, and they can be dried for winter arrangements.

• 18-28 inches tall
• Full sun
• Summer bloom
• Transplant when the danger of frost has passed

6. Impatiens

Impatiens are the perfect plant to brighten up a shady spot and make excellent container plants. There are lots of colors to choose from, including many shades of pink, ranging from pale apple blossom to bright bubblegum. If downy mildew is a problem in your area, look for resistant varieties.

• 6-12 inches tall
• Part to full shade
• Blooms all summer until frost
• Pinch back leggy plants to keep them bushy

7. Begonias

Wax begonias are one of the easiest bedding plants to grow. Excellent for containers or in the garden, they are always flowering, living up to their Latin name Begonia semperflorens. You can choose hot or pale pink with glossy green or bronze foliage, and they will not disappoint! 

Pot them up at the end of the season, and they will continue to blossom indoors all winter long. Learn all about growing begonias as houseplants.

• 6-24 inches tall
• Part shade
• Blossoms until frost
• Drought tolerant

Vines That Produce Pink Flowers

8. Honeysuckle

Trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) is a major hummingbird magnet, so be sure to plant it where you can enjoy their aerobatic maneuvers. They can’t resist its clusters of hot pink tubular-shaped blossoms! 

A long-lived perennial vine, it readily twines itself around most types of support and looks beautiful draped over the top of an arbor or pergola. Feel free to cut back any wayward stems. Check out our Honeysuckle Growing Guide for more information on planting and pruning.

• Vines can reach up to 20 high
• Sun to part sun
• Blooms from early summer to early fall
• Zones 4-9

9. Sweet Pea

Perennial sweet pea (Lathyrus latifolius) is a surprisingly rugged vine that grows 6-9 feet tall in a single season, bearing bright pink blossoms all summer long. Its tendrils grasp onto any form of support they can easily wrap around, such as a wire fence or trellis. It dies back to the ground each winter and regrows vigorously the next season.

• 6-9 foot vines
• Full sun to part shade
• Blossoms early summer through fall
• Zones 5-9

Perennials That Produce Pink Flowers

10. Coneflower

Echinacea purpurea is often called purple coneflower, but the color of its petals is closer to pink. A native perennial, it is a rich source of nectar for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Let its seedheads stand in the fall for the goldfinches to enjoy! 

• 2-4 feet high
• Full to part sun
• Blooms mid to late summer
• Zones 3-8

Learn more about this perennial favorite by reading our Coneflower Grow Guide.

11. Milkweed

Rose milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) is a native perennial that draws a multitude of pollinators to its nectar and is a host plant for monarch and queen butterfly larvae. Also known as swamp milkweed, it prefers moist soil, making it a perfect addition to your rain garden.

• 3 feet tall
• Full sun to part shade
• Summer flowering
• Zones 3-8

Read the complete guide to growing Milkweed.

12. Sweet Joe Pye Weed 

Sweet Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum) is another native worthy of planting in your landscape. Bees and butterflies love its vanilla scent, and so will you! It has a long bloom time, adding rosy pink flowers to the fall colors around it. 

• 4-6 feet tall
• Part sun-part shade
• Blooms late summer into fall
• Zones 3-8

Here are more flowers that attract butterflies!

13. Dianthus 

Dianthus are called pinks not for their color but for the fringed edges of their petals that look like they have been trimmed with pinking shears. They come in many colors, not just pink, but we love cheddar pinks.  They bear 1-inch single flowers atop blue-green grass-like foliage and have a sweet clove scent. Read more about the many kinds of dianthus.

• 9-12 inches tall
• Full sun
• Late spring to early summer bloom
• Zones 3-9

14. Bleeding Hearts

Fringed bleeding heart (Dicentra eximia) has pink, heart-shaped blossoms that will light up your shade garden. This native’s blue-green, ferny foliage does not die back in summer as the old-fashioned bleeding hearts do, and it is in bloom for a longer period.

• 8-12 inches tall
• Full to part shade
• Blossoms from April – July
• Zones 3-9

Check out our complete guide to planting and growing Bleeding Hearts.

15. Japanese Anemones

Japanese anemones bloom in late summer into fall when other plants are winding down. We love their 3-inch-wide, broad-petaled pink flowers that dance on tall, wiry stems. 

The plants are spread by underground rhizomes and by seed, so they can quickly fill an empty space in your landscape. We grow (A. tomentosa) ‘Robustissima’ and a hybrid called ‘September Charm’ for cutting and pick them while they are still in bud. 

• 2-4 feet tall
• Part sun to part shade
• Blooms from late summer to fall
• Zones 4-8

Anenomes are easy to grow; learn more!

16. Sedum 

‘Autumn Joy’ is a favorite fall flower for nectar-seeking butterflies and other pollinators who are drawn to its clusters of tiny pink flowers. Its succulent gray-green leaves hold moisture, making the plant drought-resistant. Let the flowers dry on the plant for winter interest.

• 2 feet tall
• Full sun
• Blossoms in late summer to fall
• Zones 3-9

17. Primrose

Showy evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa) is a native perennial with 2-3 inch wide, 4-petaled, satiny pink flowers. 

Drought tolerant, it grows in poor soil and spreads by underground runners to form large colonies. Let them naturalize in your wildflower garden. We saw fields of these in Texas this spring along with the bluebonnets.

• 12-18 inches tall
• Full sun
• Flowers from late spring into fall
• Zones 4-9

See 9 of our favorite primrose varieties.

Shrubs That Produce Pink Flowers

18. Elderberry 

‘Black Lace’ (Sambucus nigra) has deep purple, finely cut foliage that shows off the large pink flower clusters. If another elderberry is planted nearby for pollination, it will produce berries.

• 6-8 feet tall
• Full to part sun
• Early summer blooms
• Zones 5-7

Elderberries are tasty, too! Read our guide to this superfruit.

19. Azaleas

Native azaleas put on quite a floral display each year. In the rhododendron family, pinxterbloom (R. periclymenoides) is the first to flower, blossoming in April before its leaves appear. Swamp azalea (R. viscosum) produces its pink, fragrant flowers in the summer after its leaves open. 

• 6 feet tall
• Part sun to shade
• Spring to early summer blooms
• Zones 4-9

20. Weigela

Weigela Florida has several varieties with dark purple foliage to complement its pink flowers, such as ‘Wine and Roses’ or ‘Midnight Wine.’ For variegated cream and green leaves, look for ‘My Monet.’ There are many sizes to choose from, making it a good fit for any sunny garden.  

Even though weigela is not a native, butterflies, and birds, especially hummingbirds, are attracted to its funnel-shaped, bright pink blossoms. It’s one of our top picks for a hummingbird garden.

• 2 ½ - 9 feet tall, depending on the variety
• Full sun
• June-July blossoms
• Zones 4-8

As you can see, the colors range from pale pink and dusty rose to fushia and magenta. Have fun painting your garden with broad strokes and highlights of pink!

Check out our stories on 20 Yellow Flowers, 20 Pure White Flowers, 20 Blue Flowers, and 20 Purple Flowers.

What are your favorite pink flowers? Let us know in the comments below!