Planting Sunshine: Designing with Yellow Flowers Through the Seasons

Embrace Yellow in the Garden

Yellow can be bold, but used thoughtfully it lights up a garden. Pair with red, orange, or lavender for intensity; combine with pink or green for subtlety. Yellow shines in spring, fall, and winter's lower light—summer sun can wash it out.

Seasonal Yellow Stars

Spring: Daffodils, crocus, forsythia.

Summer: Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), sunflowers (Helianthus), sundrops (Oenothera perennis), lilies.

Fall: Coneflower (Rudbeckia), tickseed (Coreopsis), goldenrod (Solidago), plus vibrant yellow leaf color.

Winter: Yellow-twig dogwood (Cornus stolonifera 'Flaviramea'), golden willow (Salix alba var. vitellina), ornamental grasses turning deep gold.

The Yellow Top 10: Easiest to Grow

Black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia alata) – fast-growing vine blooms spring to fall.

• Zinnia (Zinnia elegans) – heat-tolerant, easy from seed, great cut flowers.
• Pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) – orange-yellow cool-season annual.
• Dalberg daisy (Thymophylla tenuiloba) – ferny foliage, cheery blooms all summer.
• Basket of gold (Aurinia saxatilis) – low mat of tiny gold flowers in early spring.
• Primrose (Primula auricula) – annual in cool climates, winter bloomer in South.
• Cushion spurge (Euphorbia polychroma) – blue-green or variegated leaves, summer flowers.
• California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) – spring annual, ideal for rock gardens or meadows.
• Leopardsbane (Doronicum) – yellow daisies in May; dies back in heat but returns.
• Painted tongue (Salpiglossis sinuata) – veined petunia-like annual flowers.

With so many options, every garden can enjoy a touch of sunshine.