31 Beautiful Flowers That Will Bloom All Season Long

So what’s the big difference between  ‘perennial’ and ‘annual’ plants? How they grow, of course!

You plant annuals each year. These plants only live for one season. They scatter seeds before dying. On the other hand, perennials are planted and come up every year from bulbs. You plant them one, and they will keep on coming back, every season.

Here’s a list of 31 plants to brighten your garden and bloom year-round.

African Violet

Scientific Name: Saintpaulia streptocarpus

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: High Tropics of Tanzania
• Plant Size: 2 to 6 inches
• Sun Exposure: medium light to bright indirect light
• Plant Zone: Houseplant, grown indoors

These are low-maintenance plants that can live for a very long time and are known to bloom year-round. They have fuzzy succulent-type leaves that help the plant absorb water. The blooms can be a variety of purple, pink, red, violet, and white shades.

African Violets are excellent house plants due to their climate restrictions. They like high humidity and need to be fertilized ever so often for a continuous bloom.

Ajuga or Bugleweed

Scientific Name: Ajuga reptans

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Europe, Northern Africa, and Southwest Asia
• Plant Size: 0.6 inches to 1 foot tall
• Sun Exposure: Shade to full sun
• Plant Zone: 3-10

Ajuga is an excellent choice for ground cover in open areas like slopes or natural woodland habitats. Because it can spread quite vigorously, you should plant these where you are okay with them possibly taking over.

The tiny purple or blue flowers grow vertically around a center stock and can reach 1 foot in height. Ajuga flowers from spring until summer though the foliage is quite attractive on its own. It has low-growing light green leaves mixed with newer leaves that have a purple hue. This plant can attract songbirds, bees, and hummingbirds.

Alpine Violet

Scientific Name: Cyclamen

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Mediterranean
• Plant Size: 6 to 9 inches
• Sun Exposure: Partial shade to dappled sunlight
• Plant Zone: 9 to 11

Cold tolerant Alpine Violets are common to woodland areas and often found growing in the wild under trees and shrubs. Because of this, Alpine Violets are an excellent choice to plant within a natural landscape.

The violets bloom in spring and winter, going dormant in the summertime. The heart-shaped leaves make it a popular potted plant for Valentine’s Day. Flowers are fragrant and come in purple, burgundy, pink, and white. The tubers are severely poisonous if eaten raw.      

Alyssum or Sweet Alyssum

Scientific Name: Lobularia maritima

• Plant Type: Warm Climate Perennial or Annual
• Geographic Origin: Mediterranean, Southern Europe
• Plant Size: 3 to 10 inches
• Sun Exposure: Partial shade to full sun, 6 hours
• Plant Zone: 5 – 9

Alyssum blooms are tiny white, purpler, or lavender flowers that grow in a sphere shape. These will grow year-round in warmer climates though technically, they are considered an annual. Alyssum prefers full sun, though they can tolerate some shade.

They do need moist, well, drained soil. Alyssum is a popular choice for borders around a patio or yard or as a ground cover. Alyssum can attract birds, pollinators, and butterflies.

Anise Hyssop

Scientific Name: Agastache

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Hybrid from the United States and Asia
• Plant Size: up to 3 ft
• Sun Exposure: Partial shade to full sun
• Plant Zone: 5 – 9

Also known as “Blue Fortune,” this long-blooming plant has exquisite purple-blue flowers that give off a minty fragrance. The flowers grow vertically on long stalks and are attractive to bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, and birds.

The plant is part of the mint family, and so the leaves may be used in tea. Great flowers to cut and display and great to plant in bulk along borders and fences to add height and interest to your garden.

Begonia

Scientific Name: Begonia

• Plant Type: Warm Climate Perennial or Annual
• Geographic Origin: Mexico and Central America
• Plant Size: 1 ft to 1ft 6 inches
• Sun Exposure: Deep shade to partial shade
• Plant Zone: 10-11

These flowers have a long blooming season and come in pink, red, white, yellow, or multicolored. They have thick, succulent-like leaves and stems. They can be grown indoors in bright, indirect light or outdoors in the shade.

They do not tolerate temperatures under 50 degrees. They need moist, well-drained soil and tend to grow in rounds. The roots are the most toxic, but the flowers and leaves can cause vomiting in horses, cats, and dogs. Begonias can make great houseplants, and there are many different begonia varieties to choose from if you prefer a wide color selection.

Black-Eyed Susans

Scientific Name: Rudbeckia fulgida

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Eastern United States
• Plant Size: 2 to 4 feet
• Sun Exposure: Partial shade to full sun
• Plant Zone: 3 to 8

Black-Eyed Susan is a hearty, moderately drought tolerant plant. It will bloom early summer and into the fall if deadheaded. Other varieties of Black-Eyed Susan, like Rudbeckia hirta, are annuals and will not come back. Perennials like this one will grow year-round in a suitable climate, such as the southern United States.

The flowers are of golden color, shaped like the sun’s rays with a black center. You will often see these growing in the wild in fields or along hillsides.

Blue Salvia, Marine

Scientific Name: Salvia chamaedryoides

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Australia
• Plant Size: up to 2 ft
• Sun Exposure: Full Sun
• Plant Zone: 7 to 11

A type of Sage from Australia, Blue Salvia, blooms year-round in warmer climates like California. Salvia has gorgeous neon blue flowers and is excellent for borders or edges where you would like a little height.

A drought-tolerant plant, this is a good choice for xeriscaping as it needs only occasional to moderate water. This plant will attract bees and butterflies and keep the deer at bay.

Bougainvillea

Scientific Name: Bougainvillea

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: South America
• Plant Size: 15 ft to 40 ft
• Sun Exposure: Full Sun
• Plant Zone: 9 and 10

Bougainvillea is a vine-like or scrambling plant and is often seen along fences or climbing up trellises. It can be pruned to grow more like a shrub in a contained space. Tiny white flowers grow alongside brightly colored blooms that can be different shades of pink or purple.

This plant does have thorns and can be hard to cut back or thin out. It is great for coastal locations as it does tolerate salt and drought.

Butterfly Pea

Scientific Name: Clitoria ternatea

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Africa and Eastern Asia
• Plant Size: 6 to 10 ft vines
• Sun Exposure: partial shade to full sun
• Plant Zone: 9 to 10

The Butterfly Pea is a great choice to plant in a wooded area as it grows wild in such a habitat. It is a vine and an excellent choice for an arbor or trellis. It is a member of the pea family, which is how it gets the common name, based on the flower and the plant.

Butterfly pea is a popular flowering vine. It can be considered invasive depending on your location, but when controlled, their beautiful flowers come in a variety of different colors. They are most popular for their deep purple and blue hues to their blooms.

Calibrachoa

Scientific Name: Calibrachoa x hybrida

• Plant Type: Perennial or Annual
• Geographic Origin: South and Central America
• Plant Size: 3 to 9 inches
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Plant Zone: 7 to 11

Calibrachoa, also known as million bells or mini petunias, come in many colors and produce small blooms in mass quantities. They can be either perennials or annuals and will bloom in the spring and have flowers until frost.

Great for hanging baskets or borders, these flowers only grow about 3 inches tall but can spread significantly in width. They are drought-resistant and require well-drained soil.

Celosia

Scientific Name: Celosia

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Africa
• Plant Size: 0.6 inches to 3 ft
• Sun Exposure: full sun
• Plant Zone: 10 to 11

The name celosia refers to the plume-shaped flower resembling a fiery flame. The flowers are tall and narrow and almost look furry. The flowers come in many colors, such as yellow, orange, pink, white, purple, and even a dark maroon.

A long-blooming annual or warm weather perennial, celosia is easy to maintain and often reseed itself. The flowers are plentiful and large, making for a magnificent display along a walkway or section of a garden. The young leaves are edible and taste like spinach. They prefer full sun and well-drained soil.

Christ Plant

Scientific Name: Euphorbia milii

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Madagascar
• Plant Size: 3 to 6
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Plant Zone: 9 to 11

Christ Thorn is a shrub with small pink or red flowers on a stalk of thick black thorns. It is often grown indoors in a sunny location or outdoors in full sun with moderate heat. Christ Thorn is drought tolerant and prefers dryer climates and well-drained soil.

This plant gets its name from the belief that it was used to make the crown of thorns placed on Christ’s head. Christ Thorn can resist deer and rabbits. It is considered mildly poisonous.

Hardy Chrysanthemum

Scientific Name: Chrysanthemum

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Eurasia to Indo-China, Subarctic America to Canada
• Plant Size: 2 to 3 feet
• Sun Exposure: Full Sun or Dappled Sunlight
• Plant Zone: 4 to 8

Hardy Chrysanthemums, also known as Old Fashioned Mums, are members of the daisy family. Chrysanthemums from the Rubella group are perennials that will bloom in the summer and fall. Most Chrysanthemums are annuals, so be sure to choose the right type if you want your plants to come back year after year.

These are an excellent choice for borders and containers, available in many colors, and produce blooms in high density.

Coral Drift Rose

Scientific Name: Rosa meldrifora

• Plant Type: Woody
• Geographic Origin: United States
• Plant Size: 1 to 2 feet
• Sun Exposure: Full Sun
• Plant Zone: 4 to 11

These roses come in shades of coral and will bloom from spring until the first frost. These flowering shrubs are low-growing, cold hardy, disease-resistant, and attractive to pollinators. The dark green foliage gives contrast with the blooms.

These beautiful roses come in shades of coral and will bloom from spring until the first frost. These are low-growing shrub-type roses that are cold hardy, and disease resistant. They are attractive to butterflies and other pollinators. The dark green foliage gives contrast with the blooms and the rest of your garden.

Golden Trumpet

Scientific Name: Allamanda cathartica

• Plant Type: Perennial or Annual
• Geographic Origin: Central America
• Plant Size: vine
• Sun Exposure: Full Sun
• Plant Zone: 10 to 11

This tropical plant is typically grown in the states in a greenhouse or as a houseplant. Golden Trumpets are a sprawling vine and happily wrap around trellises or other supports. They can be grown outdoors in the summer and brought inside for winter.

The large flowers are bright yellow and shaped like a trumpet, hence the name. They will bloom from spring into late fall. Trumpet vines can be considered invasive in certain areas, so plant with care.

Hibiscus

Scientific Name: Rosa sinensis

• Plant Type: Woody
• Geographic Origin: Asia
• Plant Size: 10ft
• Sun Exposure: Full Sun
• Plant Zone: 9 to 11

Many types of hibiscus have sizeable gorgeous pink, yellow, red, or white flowers. It is a tropical plant and can be grown outdoors in warmer areas like California, Hawaii, Florida, and Texas. Flowers can be up to 6 inches, and plants grow into shrubs or trees of up to 10ft.

These plants attract bees and pollinators like hummingbirds and butterflies, making them a fun addition to your landscape—an eye-catching bloom to plant along walkways, hedges, or even indoors.

Hybrid Astilbe

Scientific Name: Astilbe x arendsii

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Asia
• Plant Size: 1 to 5 ft
• Sun Exposure: Partial shade, dappled sunlight
• Plant Zone: 3 to 9

Astilbe is also commonly known as false spirea. Astilbe has large bright vertical blooms and feathery foliage reminiscent of ferns. These perennials prefer shadier areas as well as moist areas, so they are excellent for planting around ponds, shaded walkways, or under trees.

Planting a bunch of them gives a garden bursts of color. They come in pink, peach, purple, red, and white colors and bloom from spring until late fall.

Jungle Geranium

Scientific Name: Ixora coccinea

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Western & Southern India, Sri_Lanka, Bangladesh to Indo China
• Plant Size: 1 to 5ft
• Sun Exposure: Partial shade in heat to Full Sun
• Plant Zone: 10 to 11

Also known as West Indian Jasmine, Jungle Geranium is a tropical plant with brilliant blooms that grow year-round in warmer climates like Florida. Dozens of smaller blooms of the Ixora make up one flower in a 5 inch wide round. The flowers can be bright orange, red, pink, and yellow.

These plants are woody shrubs that can grow into thick medium-sized bushes. Geraniums can be grown outdoors in the warm summer sun and wintered inside in containers.

Jasmine or Dwarf Gardenia

Scientific Name: Gardenia jasminoides

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Taiwan, Vietnam, Southern China, and Japan
• Plant Size: 2 to 3 feet
• Sun Exposure: Partial shade in heat to Full Sun
• Plant Zone: 7 to 8

The intoxicatingly fragrant Jasmine plant blooms from early spring to late summer. It is a low-growing plant great for a hillside, groundcover, or hedges. The blooms are typically white though other varieties of Jasmine and Gardenia come in different colors. Though Jasmine is heat and drought resistant, it does not bode well in cold temperatures.

Jasmine is a member of the coffee family, and like coffee plants, Jasmine also produces fruit that is golden in color when mature, which attracts birds.

Kalanchoes

Scientific Name: Kalanchoes

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Southern, Eastern Africa, Madagascar, Southeastern Asia, China
• Plant Size: up to 12 inches
• Sun Exposure: Full sun or bright indirect light
• Plant Zone: 10 to 11

Kalanchoes are a type of succulent mostly grown indoors as a houseplant. Tiny blossoms of various colors grow in clusters amidst the dark green shiny leaves. They are low maintenance and can be grown in bright indirect light with little water. They will bloom for a long time each year.

Kalanchoes need 12- 14 hours of complete darkness every night for 6 to 8 weeks to rebloom. You can put them in a closet or elsewhere to achieve this. You can plant them outside as long as temperatures do not get close to freezing. Then, they will act as a perennial and come back each year.

Lantana

Scientific Name: Lantana camara

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Southern, Eastern Africa, Madagascar, Southeastern Asia, China
• Plant Size: up to 12 inches
• Sun Exposure: Full sun or bright indirect light
• Plant Zone: 10 to 11

Found growing in tropical and coastal climates due to their salt tolerance, Lantanas have multi-hued yellow, orange, red, white, purple, and pink blooms. It is grown as a houseplant or outdoors in warmer, humid climates.

Growing low to the ground, Lantana sprawl, making it perfect for planters and groundcover but can become invasive in the perfect tropical climate. In addition, it is toxic to livestock.

Marigold

Scientific Name: Calendula officinalis

• Plant Type: Annual
• Geographic Origin: Mediterranean
• Plant Size: 1 to 2 ft
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Plant Zone: 2 through 11

These cheery and bright golden-colored flowers are easy to grow and bloom from spring until frost. Cutting dead flowers helps them to rejuvenate, and blooms will be plentiful.

These are a gardener’s choice to plant around vegetable gardens as they are a natural pest deterrent. They do, however, attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. The Marigold blooms are edible and are a colorful addition to salads, and the petals make a bright yellow dye.

Nasturtium

Scientific Name: Tropaeolum majus

• Plant Type: Annual
• Geographic Origin: Central and South America
• Plant Size: up to 10 inches
• Sun Exposure: Full sun, partial shade in hot weather
• Plant Zone: 2 to 11

Nasturtium, with their multicolored blooms, add flair to your herb garden. The whole of the plant is edible with a spicy flavor. This plant attracts butterflies and is drought tolerant. It has a long blooming season, is easy to grow, and comes in vine or bush form.

The flowers are red, yellow, orange, pink, and cream. They are resistant to deer and do not cause harm to pets that may ingest.

Pansy, Johnny Jump Up

Scientific Name: Viola bicolor

• Plant Type: Annual
• Geographic Origin: North America
• Plant Size: 6 to 9 inches
• Sun Exposure: Partial Shade to Full sun
• Plant Zone: 2 through 11

Pansies are native to North America and prefer lots of sun and sandy soil. It grows rampantly, blanketing fields, and can even serve as an alternative to grass in a backyard with light traffic.

It is self-pollinating and considered to be invasive in some places. Don’t place pansies in small planters or areas where you would like the plants to stay contained.

Purple Coneflower

Scientific Name: Echinacea purperea

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Central and Eastern North America
• Plant Size: 3 to 4 ft
• Sun Exposure: Partial Shade to Full sun
• Plant Zone: 3 to 8

Purple Coneflower, often referred to as Echinacea, is a tall skinny plant producing large purple flowers. It blooms from summer into fall, and the flowers are great to cut and use for display.

 It is perhaps most well known for its beautiful and brightly colored flowers. It’s also often consumed in tea form, cornflower helps soothe the common cold and boost the immune system.

Snapdragons

Scientific Name: Antirrhinum majus

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Southwestern Europe
• Plant Size: 6 inches to 3 ft
• Sun Exposure: partial shade to full sun
• Plant Zone: 7 to 10

This plant gets its name from the shape of the petals reminiscent of a dragon’s mouth. This plant will come back each year as a perennial in the wild, but if grown in a garden, it’s a long-season annual.

These tall plants produce multiple blooms vertically at the top of each stock. Many color variations attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Snapdragons make a gorgeous addition to any garden and can be used along fences or add height and depth to a landscape.

Threadleaf Tickseed

Scientific Name: Coreopsis verticillata

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: North America, Southeastern US
• Plant Size: 6 inches to 3 ft
• Sun Exposure: partial shade to full sun
• Plant Zone: 3 to 9

The bright yellow flowers of the Threadleaf Tickseed are abundant on these plants and bloom throughout spring to fall. The plant grows in a bush-type mound and is an excellent choice for a xeriscape or native garden.

Low maintenance and self-seeding, these plants will also attract butterflies, bees, and songbirds to your yard. They grow well by the coast because of their salt tolerance.

Twinspur

Scientific Name: Diascia barberae

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: Southern Africa
• Plant Size: up to 12 inches
• Sun Exposure: partial shade to full sun
• Plant Zone: 8 to 11

These purple flowering plants are named for the pair of spurs on the back of each flower. These spurs contain a substance that attracts bees. It is a perennial in warmer climates but can also be grown as an annual.

It will bloom from spring well into fall and is great for planting along walkways and borders. Blooms grow in small clusters in shades of purple and pink.

Yellow Bush Daisy

Scientific Name: Euryops pectinatus

• Plant Type: Perennial
• Geographic Origin: South Africa
• Plant Size: 4 to 6 feet
• Sun Exposure: partial shade to full sun
• Plant Zone: 8 to 11

As the name implies, these plants grow in bush-like formations with many blooms. The foliage is long and feathery and of a silvery green color. The flowers will come back pretty much all year in warm climates.

Yellow Bush Daisies make great additions in a natural or urban garden because once established, they need little water. They work well as a groundcover to quickly fill in bare spaces or cover a large area.

Zinnia

Scientific Name: Zinnia

• Plant Type: Annual
• Geographic Origin: Southern North America and South America
• Plant Size: up to 4 ft
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Plant Zone: 8 to 11

Zinnias are fun to grow because there are so many different zinnia varieties to choose from. They come in all different shapes, colors, and sizes. They may be in a beehive, button, or cactus shape, and different types may have one row or many rows of petals.

They are easy to grow, low maintenance, deer and rabbit resistant. Great to fill an entire planter and create a blanket of multicolor flowers. Attractive to hummingbirds, bees, birds, and butterflies.