It’s always a good idea to have flowers blooming at all times, so I made a year-round blooming flowers chart to help plan for blooms for the whole year.
Why year-round blooms are a good idea
Aside from the obvious benefit of having beautiful blooms no matter the season, it’s helpful always to have something blooming so that pollinators have food and shelter. Read more about how to attract pollinators to your yard.
This chart has been helpful to me in identifying holes in what I have blooming at any given time.
I’m trying to make sure that I can provide for bees, insects, butterflies and birds that depend on my garden.
How my bloom time chart is set up
I do it week by week from March through October, which is my prime growing season here in Virginia (7b). I list all of my flowers starting with early blooms and working down to late fall bloomers. My natives are bolded.
I loosely make the color the same color as my blooms. Yes, I have lots of pinks and purples with a tad of yellow.
How to use the bloom time chart
Feel free to keep any of the examples I have or remove them and put whatever you have in your garden. Keep notes on when a particular plant first flowers and when it last flowers for you.
You can use plant info online, but it won’t be nearly as specific as you can make it yourself. Sometimes, instead of making notes, because I forget, I look through my camera roll to determine the date I first photographed something, and likewise the last time. This works for me since I take so many pictures with my phone.
Spring blooms
Some of my favorite spring blooms are coral honeysuckle, which blooms from spring to fall here in 7b, tulips and peonies. Also, my blueberry plants provide super early blooms in the garden and the bumblebees love them.
Summer Blooms
Zinnias and dahlias are my favorites because they last a long time and are high producers. But, I also love great blue lobelia, bee balm and SO many more.
Fall Blooms
I love that my dahlias last into fall. Turtlehead is a new favorite for me. And, the powerhouse pollinator buffet is most definitely the goldenrod. It’s usually swarming with a plethora of species.
Grow with me
See my other garden or wildlife posts.
Get new posts in your inbox by subscribing.
Follow on Instagram.
No Comments