10 of the Best Easy to grow flowering plants for Beginners

Hellebores are clump-forming perennials which flower in late winter and early spring. Easy to establish and, as a woodland plant, will grow in dappled shade and will self-seed. Hellebores flower in shades of pink, maroon, white, cream and green and have single or double flowers with speckled flowers. 

Tips on growing Hellebores.

Understated, Aubretia is easy to grow and makes an impressive show of colour trailing down a wall. Aubretia is a perennial which flowers reliably every April/May and requires no attention other than cutting back after flowering. If you neglect to do so, it will still perform, although eventually you will have to take the shears to it.

Video How to Cut Back Aubretia 

Aquilegia is a lovely spring flower, easy to grow, and has a wide range of colours. Aquilegia needs no attention to reappear each year. It is a perennial with dainty flowers. Aquilegia self-seeds, but it is not too invasive.  Tolerant of most soils, Aquilegia requires no maintenance.

Tips about on How to grow Aquilegia.

Daffodils are the most reliable of spring bulbs, especially the shorter varieties such as tête-à-tête. There are hundreds of varieties to choose from, and many are scented. The simple trick is to plant at the correct depth.

Forsythia is a commonly grown deciduous shrub that is very easy to grow. It has bright yellow flowers in spring ahead of the leaves. It is tough and will grow in most conditions, and there are now several compact varieties such as Forsythia × intermedia Mikador which grows up to 1m.

Lavender is easy to grow if you have the right conditions it is reliable each year.

To grow lavender, you need well-drained soil, on the dry side, no winter wet and a sunny position. In these conditions, it will grow happily for years.

If your conditions are less than ideal, and like bees, you like blue, go for Nepeta, which is much more forgiving of ground conditions.

Nepeta is easy and rewarding to grow. It is long-flowering, and if dead-headed, will continue to flower for weeks. Loved by bees, it is tolerant of all soil types. I have lost several lavender plants over the years (bad ground conditions) but never a Nepeta.

There are many more varieties to choose from, which are more upright and compact, moving away from the traditional large, more sprawling varieties.

Widely grown by gardeners, the hardy geranium is a reliable summer flower plant, attractive to bees (check out this short video Bees love blue. There are many types of Geraniums with a great range of colours, pinks, mauve, white, even red, and all are easy to grow. Geraniums vary in size, the largest around 60 cms to quite small mat-forming varieties just a few centimetres tall. Many are shade-tolerant..

Sedum is a breeze to grow and such a tidy plant. Older versions tended to flop outwards, leaving the middle of the plant bare, but newer cultivars stand upright and are a butterfly and pollinator magnet. They are easy to grow and only need cutting down in the spring to make way for the new growth.  Popular varieties are in various shades of red and pink. There are also varieties with purple leaves and low growing types flowering white and yellow,  ideal for growing in crevices and pavings. 

Alliums are a perennial bulb, and easy to grow. Spring /summer flowering Alliums look good planted in large groups, with the sharp green of Alchemilla mollis - Lady's Mantle, (also easy to grow, too easy can be invasive) and hardy geranium.  There are lots of Alliums to choose from. The shorter varieties do not require staking.  Planting and Growing advice for Alliums.