Types of Wildflowers to Grow

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Wildflowers are a great way to add a natural area to your garden, especially if you can find these flowers locally in the town or city you live in. Wildflowers can also bring in a variety of pollinators and other wildlife to your area. Here are different types of wildflowers to grow in your garden.

There are many flowers I enjoy growing in my garden from seed now. Some of these are flowers I like to grow in my cut flower garden, while others happen to grow locally. I love watching the colorful blooms open up, attracting all kinds of pollinators to my urban garden.

Below are 14 types of wildflowers to add to your garden. While this is not a complete list of wildflowers you can grow, these are flowers that are commonly grown throughout most of the United States and should sound familiar to you.

Some of these I’ve already mentioned in past posts, so these may be familiar to you. You might already have some of these growing in your garden too!

Different Types of Wildflowers

Here is a brief list of the wildflowers mentioned below in more detail. These flowers include:

Poppies
Lupines
Zinnias
Forget Me Nots
Black Eyed Susans
Cosmos
Phlox
Shasta Daisies
Queen Anne’s Lace
Coneflowers
Fennel
Blanket Flowers
Fennel
Nasturtium

Below are more details about each of these flowers, as well as suggestions on types of seeds to grow and where to buy them!

Poppies

I decided to add poppies first since the Golden Poppy is a native of California, as well as the state flower. These golden wildflowers pop up all over during the spring and summer months. You can also mix these with the colorful Iceland poppies in your wildflower garden.

Once established, poppies need little care. Golden poppies can be left alone with little water, since they are used to surviving long periods with no water in the arid climate. These are one of a few types of California wildflowers I am mentioning in this post.

Lupines

Lupines grow in the wild here in Southern California, as well as other parts of North America. They usually grow small flowers in the form of spikes in blues and purples. Hummingbirds and bees love them!

Add them to a cutting garden or to fill an empty space in your garden for tall, colorful blooms. Combine them with other types of purple wildflowers in your garden as well!

Here are some lupines to add to your garden:

Zinnias

Zinnias are wildly popular flowers that gardeners of all skills enjoy to grow. These wildflowers can grow all over the world. One seed can produce many blooms in a season.

The long and hardy stems on zinnias make them great flowers to add to bouquets. They come in a variety of colors. Check out my post about how to grow zinnias to learn more.

Forget-Me-Not

These small blue flowers with yellow centers make great cut flowers. They can also add some color to patio or porch when grown in containers. Myosotis sylvatica grows well in USDA zones 3 to 8 and can stand up to 18 inches tall when full-grown.

Grow these forget-me-nots in your wildflower garden:

Black-Eyed Susans

Did you know that black-eyed susans are actually wild flowers? These popular flowers are also known under the name rudbeckia hirta. They are propagated all over the world.

These yellow blooms grow as high as 3 feet tall. Be careful where you grow your susans, since they self-sow.

Here are different varieties to grow in your wildflower garden:

Cosmos

Cosmos are popular flowers for beginner and veteran gardeners to enjoy, but they are also wildflowers. Bushy plants bloom tall flowers at the top in an array of colors, including white, pink, red, yellow, and orange, to name a few.

These hardy plants don’t need much care once established. Place in borders, raised garden beds, or in a mix with other wildflowers for you and pollinators to enjoy.

Phlox

Phlox is a wildflower that blooms flowers in all kinds of colors, including white, pink, purple and yellow. The flowers smell great! Make sure to give your phlox enough water to enjoy all season long.

Shasta Daisies

Not all daisies are wildflowers, but the Shasta Daisy is. The Leucanthemum vulgare blooms in white flowers with a bright yellow center. These can be seen along roads, in meadows, and fields out in the wilds of the United States.

They are easy to grow and can stand up to 30 inches tall. To learn more about growing daisies, check out my post on How to Grow Daisies.

Queen Anne’s Lace

Queen Anne’s Lace grows clusters of small white flowers near the top of stems that can reach 30 inches in height. It is also known as wild carrot and its scientific name is Daucus carota. While Queen Anne’s Lace is known for its white flowers, it also blooms purple, pink, and blue flowers.

Grow in full to partial sun in moist, poor, or well-draining soil. The wildflower can also tolerate some drought.

Coneflowers

The purple coneflower can add some color and pollinators to your garden. They bloom in the summer and grow best in USDA zones 3 to 8. These plants also come in other colors, although the most well-known and popular flowers bloom in bright shades of purple.

Fennel

Fennel is a herb, but also a wildflower. The blooms look similar to dill in size, shape, and color. They can grow 8 feet high and are a relative of carrots.

Combine this flower as a filler with other types of wildflowers for bouquets to display in your home for you, family members, and friends to enjoy while visiting.

Here are some varieties of fennel to grow:

Blanket Flowers

The blanket flower is a wildflower that comes in bright colors to stand out in your wildflower garden. The blooms open up in reds with yellow tips. Definitely an eye catcher!

Yarrow

Yarrow, also known as Achillea millefolium, don’t need much care once established. These wildflowers bloom in yellow, pink, and white, and are a favorite of pollinators.

To learn more about attracting pollinators, read more in my How to Grow a Pollinator Garden article.

Check out these yarrow varieties:

Nasturtium

Nasturtium are fast growing flowers that bloom in all kinds of colors. They are a popular flower for gardeners since they grow quickly.

Vegetable gardeners are known to grow nasturtium since this companion plant adds greatly when grown with vegetables. The entire plant is edible too!

Different Types of Wildflowers

If this list seems overwhelming, but you want to try growing a few varieties of wildflowers in your garden, there are seed suppliers who provide packets with different types of wildflowers in them. Below are a a few suggestions to get you started:

Make sure to read the back of the packet or label if you are not sure or just starting out growing flowers. Don’t be too hard on yourself if some don’t grow. Gardening is a process filled with trials and errors, but a wonderful learning tool!

How to Grow Wildflowers

There are a variety of ways to grow wildflowers in your garden. You can add them to beds, border, and raised garden beds.

I grow all my flowers in pots and raised beds, but that is partially because I only have a concrete patio outside. I do love that I have control over the type of soil my flowers grow in.

I just fill my containers with raised garden or potting mix for flowers, then place a small layer of seed starter soil on top. I then add some water, place the seeds where I want them, place another thin layer of the seed starter on top, then water some more.

In a week or so I start to see seedlings sprouting in the Southern California sunshine!