Yellow perennial flowers for spring

Add these perennials to your garden for that first hit of spring! They’re plants you’ll look forward to keeping an eye on every year as they’re among the first burst of colour in the garden.

Spurge

A member of the Euphorbia genus, spurge is a lovely mounding early-spring-blooming perennial.

Forsythia

Forsythia is one of my favourite spring-blooming shrubs. Depending on the year, it usually blooms in April. After the blooms have died off, be sure to prune it right away as the blooms for next year develop on this year’s branches. Throughout the summer, it’s just a nice green leafy shrub.

Winter aconite

A member of the buttercup family, the yellow flowers of this cheerful, low-growing tuberous perennial is one of the first to appear in spring.  If you are planting them, place them under taller perennials as a groundcover. Plant tubers in the fall about six inches apart, and be sure to dig them in at least five inches deep to protect from winter conditions.

Yellow perennial flowers for the summer garden

There are so many options for the summer garden. Some of the plants listed here are native to North America and make wonderful additions to summer vases.

Coreopsis

Also known as tickseed, this is another native plant that will attract the bees and butterflies to your garden. Coreopsis is drought tolerant and should be deadheaded to encourage a longer bloom time. There are lots of interesting varieties to choose from, and annual choices, as well.

Coneflowers

While pink is the hue most commonly associated with coneflowers, there are some pretty yellow varieties. They like part sun to full sun, and don’t mind drier conditions throughout the summer. They provide winter interest in the garden lookswise, but are also a food source for birds. In the summer they are a magnet for bees and butterflies.

Shasta daisies

While it’s usually the centre of the Shasta daisy that is yellow, there are some golden varieties, too. A nice lush foliage makes them stand out in the garden and they’ll bloom through late summer. Plant one and it will spread out in the garden—be sure to divide them every two to three years. And don’t forget to deadhead!

Yellow perennial flowers that bloom through fall

Savvy green thumbs make sure they have something in bloom from spring right up until the first frost. These perennial choices will provide a vibrancy in the garden as other plants start to die back.

Black-eyed Susans

Black-eyed Susans are quintessential summer perennial flowers that are native to North America. Not only will you see them in gardens, but I’ve seen them growing in ditches and meadows, and along hiking trails. Members of the sunflower family, they make great cut flowers in summer bouquets and bloom through October. They love the sun and the pollinators love them! Leave the seed heads for the birds in winter.

Chrysanthemums

Chrysanthemums are among the very last flowers still in bloom at the end of the season. They are pretty common at the garden centre come fall, displayed among hay bales and other harvest-themed décor. And as the garden fades, yellow mums are a standout. The mums in my garden come back every year.

Yellow annuals

These flowers, like their perennial counterparts, attract plenty of pollinators and can fill in empty garden spots with their cheerful hue.

Marigolds

Apparently densely planted African marigolds have been proven to kill bindweed.

Nasturtiums

They make a nice spiller, cascading over the edge of their container. Both the flowers and leaves are edible, which is fun when you’re putting together salads for summer potlucks. Pollinators love them and they’re easy to grow from seed.

Sunflowers

There are endless varieties of sunflowers, from heritage varieties full of pollen for the bees and butterflies, and pollen-less varieties for those who wish to cut them for flower bouquets without the mess. And if you want the seeds to munch on, there are those varieties, too! Sunflowers are easy to grow from seed and look great at the back of a veggie garden—so they don’t shade out the veggies you’re growing, of course.