10 Best Green Flowers for the Garden

Amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus)

Along with the traditional red color, annual amaranth comes in green tones, such as the 'Green Tail' cultivar. This old-fashioned species, also known as love-lies-bleeding, has tassle-like flowers and makes a funky filler for your cut flower arrangements. It also lends interest to hanging baskets. Combine these with a red form such as 'Red Garnet' for brilliant contrast in your container garden. These annuals like full sun, warm temperatures, and rich soil. They typically bloom from July until frost.

Amaranths self-seed with abandon when conditions are right, but don't throw away unwanted seedlings when you thin the plants: They are edible and make excellent micro-greens in your salads. 

• USDA Growing Zones: 2 to 11
• Color Varieties: Red, burgundy, purple, green
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• Soil Needs: Moist, well-drained soil

Bells of Ireland (Moluccella laevis)

As you might expect from the name, Bells of Ireland is a plant with genuinely green flowers. This annual plant falls into that “I’m not sure how to grow it” category for some gardeners because the plants fare poorly in hot weather. In fact, exposure to cold temperatures enhances germination, so if you can sow these in the fall, they will naturally sprout when temperatures are to their liking. Expect about 10 weeks of bouquet-worthy blooms, and when the plants decline you can replace them with some hot weather annuals.

Bells of Ireland produces green flowers densely packed around a vertical spike from mid-summer until fall, gradually turning beige as the flowers age. For taller spikes, fertilize the plants monthly.

• USDA Growing Zones: 2 to 11
• Color Varieties: Green
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Soil Needs: Fertile, moist, well-drained soil

Coneflower (Echinacea spp.)

Horticulturists are developing new varieties of coneflower every year in response to gardener demand, but isn’t the sculptural drama of the ‘Green Jewel’ variety great? 'Green Wizard' is another fun take on green flowers, its green sepals and blackish cones adding a dose of texture and whimsy to the border and vase.

Like other members of the Echinacea genus, green coneflowers are short-lived perennials that self-seed freely. Even the green variety attracts butterflies with its rich nectar content, and if you combine your green coneflowers with a planting of the ruby red 'Magnus' variety, you will have an instant cutting garden.

• USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 7
• Color Varieties: Purple, red, white, yellow, pink, green
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• Soil Needs: Dry to medium moisture, well-drained soil

Daylily (Hemerocallis cv.)

There are so many yellow-green varieties of perennial daylilies to choose from; the reblooming ‘Green Flutter’ variety pictured here is but one of the choices. ‘Green Iceberg', ‘Green Puff', and ‘Green Glitter’ are some other daylilies that display greenish-yellow blooms. Try planting them alongside one of the hundreds of daylily cultivars that feature green throats.

Daylilies are nearly indestructible and among the easiest of all flowers to grow. Foliage should be removed back to ground level once frost kills it back.

• USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 10
• Color Varieties: White, red, orange, pink, yellow, greenish-yellow
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• Soil Needs: Medium moisture, well-drained soil

Gladiolus (Gladiolus Group)

The right gladiolus cultivar can provide gardeners with a piercing green accent that pairs well with other neon-hued flowers in the garden. Buy the biggest bulbs you can find of green types like ‘Green Star’ to reap dramatic spikes for your flower arrangements. These tender corms aren’t hardy in areas colder than zone 7, so you must dig them up if you intend to keep them from year to year. Unless gladiolas are grown in day-long sun, they will get leggy and require staking.

• USDA Growing Zones: 7 to 10 (grown as annuals elsewhere)
• Color Varieties: White, cream, yellow, orange, red, pink, green, lavender, purple
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Soil Needs: humusy, medium moisture, well-drained soil 

Hellebore (Helleborus orientalis)

Sometimes called the Lenten rose because of its early bloom time, the hellebore was recognized as the perennial plant of the year by the Perennial Plant Association. This perennial is valued for its shade tolerance and hardiness. In addition to varieties with mint-green flowers, other cultivars may display white, pink, or purple flowers, and cross-pollination often leads to unexpected flower colors.

These plants should be located in garden spots that are protected from harsh winter winds.

• USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 9
• Color Varieties: White, pink, rose-purple, green
• Sun Exposure: Part shade to full shade
• Soil Needs: Rich, well-drained soil

Hydrangea (Hydrangea spp.)

Hydrangeas are decidous flowering shrubs. Some have blooms that turn color as the season progresses, with flowers that start and end white, turning green during the middle of the season. Others remain green for the entire blooming season.

If you think purple and lime green are a can’t-miss color combo, you must try the ‘Cityline Rio’ hydrangea, which features purple blooms with green eyes. The pale green mops of hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ offer a color-changing show in fall when blooms fade to dusty rose. The name of 'Little Lime' says it all: you get go-with-everything green flower heads on compact four-foot plants. 

You can prompt larger blooms by pruning the plant back to five to 10 main shoots. In colder climates, some hydrangeas behave more like herbaceous perennials, dying back to ground level each winter.

• USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 11 (depending on species)
• Color Varieties: Blue, white, pinks, green
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to full shade (depending on species)
• Soil Needs: Rich, medium moisture, well-drained soil

Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana alata)

A few plants of this fragrant old-fashioned annual will attract giant hummingbird moths to your garden. Pair ‘Antique Lime’ with one of the pink, purple, or red varieties close to your deck or porch, as the fragrance is most intense in the evening.

In cooler climates, this plant will bloom all summer long, but in warmer climates, it may fade and need to be replaced with a warm-weather annual.

• USDA Growing Zones: 10 to 11 (usually grown as an annual)
• Color Varieties: Yellow-green to white, pink and red
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• Soil Needs: Moist, rich, well-drained soil

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis)

The crisp white flowers of snowdrops with their green accents are welcome harbingers of early spring, whether or not you have snow on the ground. Deer avoid all varieties of Galanthus flowers, so plant with abandon at the edge of your woodland garden. Plant this bulbous perennial in large drifts in the fall for greatest impact. The bulbs can cause skin irritation, so wear gloves when planting them.

• USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 7
• Color Varieties: White with green accents
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• Soil Needs: Medium moisture, well-drained soil

Zinnia Varieties (Zinnia Group)

This flower will prove to you that green really does go with everything. The brilliant chartreuse color of zinnia ‘Envy’ can look cool or electric, depending on whether you pair it with white or other bright flowers. Plant this hot weather lover at the same time you set out your tomatoes, when night temperatures average 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

Zinnias are very easy to grow from seeds, but the plants can be susceptible to powdery mildew and various leaf spots. Cultivars derived from the Zinnia angustifolia species are considered more disease-resistant than those derived from Z. elegans. Good air circulation between plants can also help prevent these problems.

• USDA Growing Zones: 2 to 11
• Color Varieties: All colors except blue and brown
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Soil Needs: Humusy, well-drained soil