Pink flowers in your garden can’t help but bring a smile to your face. After all, there’s a meaning the expression “tickled pink” translates to being completely content and happy.
Whether you prefer a delicate pale pink, a deep magenta, a rosy pink, or a dazzling hot pink, we’ve compiled some of the most stunning pink perennials to add to your garden.
Bergenia
Bergenia is a lovely heart-leaved flower that is commonly called “pigsqueak” because of the sound that resonates when two of the flowers are rubbed together. This flower blooms with large rosettes above glossy, dark green leaves. The plant is commonly used as ground cover due to its slow-spreading nature. This exceptionally low-maintenance plant thrives in partial to full shade and grows best in zones 3-8.
Foxglove
This eye-catching flower features a cascade of slender, bell-shaped blooms that vary in color but typically bloom in pink or purple. As a note, foxglove is extremely poisonous to both humans and animals and should not be planted by pet owners in areas where their pet has any access or by people with young children. Foxglove prefers zones 4-10.
Aster
Aster flowers present as a close cousin to the daisy and will bloom strongly in late summer and through October. They are a preferable flower due to the predictability of their blooming and ability to attract pollinators that include butterflies. They typically grow anywhere from 1-4 feet tall and contain more than 250 varying types. Asters prefer full sun and bloom strongest in moist soil in blooms 3-10.
Delphinium
This charming summer flower showcases a spray of spiky florets that burst forth from a towering central stem. Delphiniums are generally planted at the back of the flower bed due to their height and the fact that their blooms are primarily at the top of the flower shoots. They benefit from stakes or twig-support after they receive a foot in height. Delphiniums can be fussy flowers to grow, preferring sunny areas that are very moist, requiring manual watering in areas that receive less than one inch of weekly rainfall. They will do best in zones 3-7 in gardens that are well-composted or contain rich mulch.
Forget-me-not
Forget-me-not flowers are the quintessential plant for a cottage-style garden. The charming, five-petaled blooms with pale yellow centers bloom rapidly from May to October. Legend has it that a medieval knight and his love were walking beside a stream while he held a bouquet of these wildflowers. The weight of the knight’s armor eventually pulled him into the water and as he sunk down, he tossed the bouquet to his lady love, shouting with his last breath for her to “forget-me-not.” While forget-me-nots are typically seen in nature in a powder blue shade, the pink variety is absolutely stunning. Forget-me-nots bloom off of fuzzy stems and spread across a garden easily, preferring to blossom in shadier spots. They are often seen in nature growing near streams or small lakes, preferring a damp area with plenty of shade. In a garden, forget-me-nots grow best in shadier areas in zones 3-8.
Hardy Hibiscus
These mid-sized hibiscus shrubs light up tropical gardens with stunning hot pink flowers that feature a deep pink center. If you don’t live in a tropical locale, these flowers can also make a great houseplant. Hardy hibiscus is considered treasured of the garden, blooming so vibrantly in late spring that they can’t help but attract the eyes of passersby. They can generally only grow outside up to zone 4.
Achimenes
A relative of the African violet, these eloquent, funnel-shaped flowers are also known as cupid’s bow and magic flower. They bloom splendidly from summer to mid-fall. Achimenes is a native flower of Mexico and Central America and will thrive outdoors all year long in zone 7 and zone 8.
Amarcrinum
With shell-pink bulbs that are capable of thriving outdoors year round, Amarcrinum features lovely, trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom openly on tall, leafless stalks. They grow well typically only in zones 8-10.
Physostegia (Obedient plant)
These easy-to-grow flowers prefer a full day of sunlight and are popular in cottage gardens, wild gardens, prairie-style gardens, and in border gardens. They feature small snapdragon-like blooms that vary in color from pale purple to a dazzling shade of pink. Physostegia blooms all summer long and grows well in zones 3-9.
Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium)
There are two distinct species of the Jacob’s ladder plant, one being found growing as a wildflower and the other developed to thrive in a garden environment. Named for the tiny, fern-like leaflets that rise along the plant’s stem like the ladder in Jacob’s Biblical dream, this woodland flower has an average growth height of one to two feet, consistently re-blooms after being cut back. This woodland flower prefers shady or semi-shady spots in the garden and will blossom nicely in zones 3-8.