Floral Sunshine

Yellow is a polarizing color for flowers. Some people think it is brassy and loud and unpleasant. Others find it sunny and cheerful. The sunny warmth of yellow can cheer up a dark garden, and looks great when combined with darker colors. Today we’re sharing some favorite yellow blooms – what are yours?

Any list of yellow flowers has to include daffodils… the sunny essence of spring. But there is a lot of diversity in daffodils beyond the classic big trumpets. This is Narcissus bulbicodium (Zone 6 – 9), sometimes called the hoop petticoat daffodil. It has a particularly elegant, miniature take on the classic daffodil.

Anemone ranunculoides (Zone 4 – 8) is a bright little woodlander, spreading slowly to make a clump of sunshine.

This little yellow flower is the lakeside daisy (Tetraneuris herbacea, Zone 4 – 8). It is a wildflower native to just a handful of spots on the shores of the Great Lakes. Though quite rare in the wild, it makes a great garden plant, with masses of yellow flowers in May.

Zinnia grandiflora (Zone 5 – 9) is a miniature, hardy, perennial species of zinnia native to western North America. Unlike the familiar annual species, this spreads out to make a long-blooming ground cover, with yellow flowers that keep coming all summer long. It is very drought tolerant, but doesn’t do well in heavy, wet soils.

Japanese kerria (Kerria japonica ‘Pleniflora’, Zone 4 – 9) is a slightly sprawling shrub that blooms for a very long period with bright yellow flower. The great feature is that it is very tolerant of even quiet deep shade, still blooming in spots where most plants won’t.

Closer look at the Japanese kerria blooms. This is the double flowered form, there are also singles with just five petals to each bloom.