One of my missions is to bust the misconception that vegetable gardens aren’t attractive. I really think it is possible to have a vegetable garden that looks great and grows a lot of food.
Plant lots and lots of flowers among your vegetables. While annuals are my favorite, I also plant spring bulbs in my vegetable beds to add color early in the season.
Putting flowers in your garden will give it pops of color that draw the eye in and around the area. They will also attract lots of good bugs like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, and your neighbors will be amazed that they’ve never seen a vegetable garden look so good!
In this article, I’ll share the best flowers for raised beds. This list features my absolute favorite flowers I’ve been growing in my vegetable garden for many years.
When you pick a basket full of colorful vegetables you grew yourself, there’s nothing better than that feeling. For those of you who know what I mean, I’m sure you’ll also enjoy putting together a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers.
Luckily, if you already grow vegetables, it’s very simple to add flowers to your raised beds. This way, you can get beautiful bouquets all summer long to give to friends and family.
Raised beds are the perfect way to create a beautiful and productive garden, even in a small space. With the right plant choices you can have stunning color greenery, and harvests all year long. Here are the top 18 all year-round plants to grow in raised beds.
Spring Stars
1. Peonies
Peonies are spring showstoppers, producing huge, fragrant blooms in shades like white, pink, red, and yellow. The lush, bushy plants reach 2-4 feet tall. Peonies thrive for decades with minimal care. Plant peony tubers in fall for blooms the following spring.
2. Bleeding Hearts
Bleeding hearts have delicate dangling blooms that live up to their name in spring. These shade-lovers produce mounds of green foliage and then pink red or white blooms from arching stems. Grow bleeding hearts from root divisions in spring or fall.
3. Tulips
Few spring bulbs can match the brilliance of tulips. Plant bulbs in fall for a kaleidoscope of color come spring. Fringed double, and striped tulip varieties extend the bloom season since they open later. Mix early mid, and late bloomers.
4. Violas
Violas are a cool weather crop that shines in spring and fall in raised beds. The edible flowers and leaves add pops of color. Plant violas from seed in early spring or use transplants. Deadhead to encourage reblooms. Pinch back leggy plants.
Summer Favorites
5. Zinnias
Few annuals can match zinnias for nonstop summer color. The daisy-like blooms come in every color except blue. Zinnias thrive in full sun and warm weather. Direct sow after the last spring frost or start seeds indoors for transplanting. Deadhead to prolong bloom.
6. Sunflowers
Sunflowers are summer icons. Mini varieties like ‘Elf’ work well in raised beds, reaching just 18 inches tall. Giant sunflower types can grow 8-12 feet tall! Plant sunflowers from seed in late spring, spacing 12-24 inches apart. Provide good drainage.
7. Lavender
Few plants evoke summer quite like fragrant lavender. Tuck lavender plants along the edges of your raised beds for color and scent. Prune plants lightly after flowering to maintain a compact shape. Protect plants in winter in cold climates.
8. Marigolds
Marigolds are carefree annuals that bloom nonstop from spring to frost. Plant marigolds from seed after danger of frost has passed, as marigolds dislike cold, damp soil. Deadhead to prolong bloom. The edible flowers add color and flavor.
Fantastic Fall Options
9. Kale
Beyond being super nutritious, kale looks fantastic in fall gardens. The frilly, blue-green leaves get sweeter after a light frost. Direct sow seeds in summer for a fall crop. Ornamental kale varieties like redbor and coral prince are edible too!
10. Pansies
Pansies give a burst of color in fall and will bloom well into winter in mild climates. Plant pansy transplants in early fall, spacing about 9 inches apart. Remove faded blooms to encourage new flowers. Use pansies for edging or in containers too.
11. Ornamental Cabbage
Ornamental cabbage adds great color and texture to fall gardens. Plant transplants of ornamental cabbage and kale in early fall, spacing 18 inches apart. The colorful heads last well into winter. Use them among pansies, kale, and other fall favorites.
12. Swiss Chard
Both the colorful stems and nutrient-packed leaves of swiss chard shine in fall gardens. The rainbow-hued varieties are particularly striking. Direct sow seeds in mid to late summer for a fall harvest. Pick outer leaves while allowing the plants to keep producing.
Winter Warriors
13. Evergreens
Evergreens like yew, boxwood, and juniper keep gardens looking alive even in the depths of winter. Try miniature evergreen varieties in raised beds, like dense dwarf mugo pine. Plant evergreens in spring or fall. Make sure to water them during winter dry spells.
14. Crocus
Crocuses are early spring bloomers but their foliage emerges in late winter, giving hope that spring is on the way. Plant crocus corms or bulbs in fall about 3 inches deep and 4 inches apart. The flowers and strappy leaves pop up through snow or frozen ground.
15. Angelina Stonecrop
Stonecrops form carpets of succulent foliage and are unfazed by winter’s worst. Angelina stonecrop has chartreuse leaves that turn reddish orange in cold weather. The low spreading plants work well spilling over raised bed edges. Plant them in spring or fall.
16. Rosemary
Rosemary’s pine-scented, needle-like foliage remains attractive throughout winter. Choose a winter hardy variety like ‘Arp’ or ‘Madeline Hill’. Plant rosemary in spring and provide excellent drainage. Mulch rosemary heavily for winter protection.
17. Kale
Ornamental kale is edible but also looks amazing with its frilly leaves in shades of white, pink, purple and green. It handles cold better than its edible cousins. Plant ornamental kale transplants in fall about 6 weeks before your first frost date.
18. Pines
Miniature pine varieties like ‘Blue Star’ juniper or ‘Sea Urchin’ mugo pine add greenery and structure to raised beds year-round. Plant them in spring, allowing plenty of space for the small evergreens to fill out over time. Pines grow very slowly.
With smart plant choices, your raised beds can look fabulous and be productive throughout every season, even winter. Focus on a mix of annuals, perennials, bulbs, edibles, and evergreens. Pay attention to sun exposure, Bloom times, mature plant sizes, and care needs as you plan out your all year-round raised bed gardens.
Favorite Flowers for Raised Bed Gardening
Zinnias
Nothing screams summer more than a handful of cheery zinnias. Available in a brilliant rainbow of colors, these cut-and-come-again plants are essential for any flower-loving gardener.
As one of the easiest flowers to grow, they are perfect for beginning gardeners. They also do well in a wide range of climates and growing zones.
Favorites include:
Lots of cool zinnia varieties in this Etsy shop here.
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Black-eyes Susan is commonly seen in perennial and prairie gardens in the Midwest where I live. The good news is that you don’t have to know how to grow perennial flowers to grow rudbeckias.
The photo above features the best Black-eyed Susan I’ve ever grown – Prairie Sun. Instead of a black eye (or center), it has more of a green center and two-toned petals featuring complementary yellows.
I’ve also tried and liked
Cherry Brandy (maroon instead of yellow)
Globe Amaranth (Gomphrena globosa)
I’ve been planting Globe Amaranth as a companion to my vegetables for as long as I can remember. I often rotate the flowers I grow each year, but this one is always on the list!.
Many of the types are tall and airy, so they won’t crowd out your vegetables when you mix them in.
You can use the flowers for winter bouquets too because they stay fresh after being dried and last long after the first frost.
I love Strawberry Fields Gomphrena mixed with Prairie Sun Rudbeckia in the same garden bed. The red and yellow colors pop against each other and the vastly different forms of the plants complement each other well.
This Etsy shop has some fun varieties of Gomphrena.
Tall or Purple Top Verbena (Verbena bonariensis)
There are various verbenas out there, but this one is my favorite by far. It’s tall and airy, so I love mixing it will other flowers and vegetables. The insects and pollinators love it and I’ve seen many a butterfly enjoying the flowers. It blooms for a long time – from July until frost.
I’ve had a hard time starting seeds at home, so every spring I buy a few seedlings at the nursery near me. It does spread its seeds pretty quickly, so in late spring I often find little seedlings all over my garden. They don’t bother me though. I let some of them grow and weed out the rest.
Nasturtium
I didn’t know about climbing nasturtiums until a few years ago. I found some seeds online while browsing, ordered them as an experiment, sowed the seeds in the winter, and put the seedlings at the base of my turquoise tuteur (see photo below).
I was surprised and happy to see them slowly climbing up and up all season, covered in flowers. I just fell in love with them! Now I grow a bunch of different kinds on the tuteur and at the base of my cattle panel trellises.
There are also mounding nasturtiums, which I also plant some years. I sometimes don’t plant them because they tend to get too big and spread out in my garden.
In the last few years, I’ve noticed many more interesting and unique varieties being introduced. Some of my favorites:
Salvia
If you want a hummingbird magnet in your garden, then scatter some Lady in Red Salvia throughout your raised beds. It continues to bloom all summer long into fall and I also love this one mixed with the yellow flowers of Prairie Sun Rudbeckia.
There are lots of colors of salvia out there, but the red and blue are my favorites.
Where To Buy Flower Seeds and Plants
Buying Seeds
If you already have a favorite seed company, their catalog should have a lot of great flower varieties for raised beds. Because they are so unique, some of the types we talked about in this blog post are even harder to find.
However, I’ve noticed that seed companies are adding more than just annual flowers to their seed selections because growing flowers is becoming more popular.
If you like me, you want to support small, local seed companies and growers. Check out some of these seed sources.
Etsy: There are a lot of individual seed savers and growers on Etsy and they tend to carry many of the harder to find varieties. To save you time lots of time I created an Etsy list featuring many of the varieties from this post. Check it out here.
This Washington state farm is owned by a family and has been slowly breeding their own varieties and increasing the number of seeds they sell every year.
They open their seed shop in early January and many of their most unique seeds tend to sell out very quickly. I’d suggest signing up for their email list so you get notification each year about the seed shop’s opening date. Find all of the seed varieties they offer here.
Johnny’s Selected Seeds: This Maine company is a favorite of organic farmers all over the US. Their vegetable, flower, and herb seeds are focused on high-performing varieties. I order many of my seeds from here.
If you want to grow cut flowers this season you won’t be disappointed if you order from them. See their offerings here.
Botanical Interests: This Colorado company has been selling herbs, seeds, and flowers for 25 years. They also have a robust seed donation program I utilized when I ran youth gardening programs for a local non-profit in Madison. Check out their flower varieties here.
Amazon: The Amazon platform might be easier for you to use to buy seeds, but I have trouble with it because it’s hard to tell who is selling the seeds I’m buying.
As I was researching different types of flowers for this article, I found that one of the sellers had taken pictures from the Floret Flower Farm website and used them in their listing. It’s the Wild West on Amazon sometimes.
I know it’s easy to buy things on Amazon, so in my Amazon shop I have lists of my favorite garden tools, vegetable varieties, and other things.
Buying Plants
I usually start most of my flowers for raised beds at home in the winter, but every once in a while I go to the farmers market or a nearby nursery to see what they have that makes me want to give it a try.
If you don’t have room to start flowers at home or don’t start seeds, I suggest you buy annual flowers near you. One of my favorite places to buy plants is from local farmers who I know are growing the same plants in their own fields.
You can read more about where where to buy vegetable plants.
6 Container Combinations to Love! // Garden Answer
FAQ
What is a plant that lasts all year round?
What is the best thing to plant in a raised garden bed?
Are raised beds a good idea?
Raised beds are for more than just vegetables! They also make a great home for flowering perennials, especially if you have poor soils. Adding perennials to your raised bed gardens is a great way to guarantee beauty year after year. Another benefit is the ability to grow some ornamentals that you otherwise would not have been able to.
What plants can grow in a raised bed?
Pumpkins and squash, for example, may flourish, but they’ll take up tons of space. Sunflowers are lovely, but their enormous roots may hog nutrients, and they’ll shade out smaller species. Many garden staples form top-notch communities in raised beds, especially those that are known as companion plants. Planning your garden?
Are raised beds good for perennials?
Raised beds are a perfect vessel for perennial gardens. Most perennials will grow nicely in raised beds, while others may need more space to spread out. In this article, gardening expert Jill Drago will list 27 perennials that are perfect for your raised beds. Raised beds are for more than just vegetables!
What are the best year-round shrubs?
Grow these Year-Round Shrubs according to seasons and fill your garden with colors! Plant these Shrubs According to Different Seasons to Get Blooms All Year. These plants are low maintenance, flower beautifully, and look fantastic in pots too! 1. Azalea 2. Bridal Wreath Spiraea 3. Brandywine 4. Witch Hazel 5. Lantana 6. California Lilac 7. Hibiscus
Which shrubs bloom all year?
Here’s an exclusive list of Shrubs that Bloom All Year! Grow these Year-Round Shrubs according to seasons and fill your garden with colors! Plant these Shrubs According to Different Seasons to Get Blooms All Year. These plants are low maintenance, flower beautifully, and look fantastic in pots too! 1. Azalea 2. Bridal Wreath Spiraea 3. Brandywine
How many plants should you grow in a raised bed?
Gardening enthusiast Emily Estep names and explains 15 plants you should be growing in raised beds. You can’t overstate the benefits of raised bed gardening. This method gives you complete control over soil composition and structure, increases the length of your growing season, and protects your plants from foot traffic.