Flowers That Start With B

If you’re planning a garden, considering flowers that start with b is a fantastic way to build a beautiful and diverse space. These blooms bring a huge range of colors, shapes, and scents to your outdoor area, ensuring something is always looking its best.

From early spring bulbs to late summer showstoppers, this list will give you plenty of ideas. You’ll find options for sun, shade, containers, and borders. Let’s look at some of the most popular and rewarding choices to help you create your own stunning display.

This group includes annuals, perennials, and shrubs, giving you flexibility for any garden design. Many are easy to grow and provide excellent value through long blooming seasons or impressive foliage.

Begonia

Begonias are beloved for their lush, often colorful leaves and continuous flowers. They thrive in shaded containers and hanging baskets where many other plants struggle. You can choose from wax begonias with their glossy green or bronze leaves to the dramatic, wing-like angel wing begonias.

Growing Tips: Plant in well-draining soil after the last frost. They prefer partial to full shade and consistent moisture.
Key Varieties: ‘Dragon Wing’ (red or pink flowers), Rex begonias (for spectacular foliage).

Bleeding Heart (Dicentra)

This classic perennial is a spring favorite. It produces unique, heart-shaped flowers on arching stems above fern-like foliage. It adds a touch of romance to woodland gardens and shaded borders.

Growing Tips: Prefers cool, moist, and well-drained soil in partial to full shade. The foliage often dies back in summer heat.
Key Varieties: Common bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis), fringed bleeding heart (Dicentra eximia) which blooms longer.

Butterfly Bush (Buddleia)

True to its name, this shrub is a magnet for butterflies, bees, and other pollinators. It produces long, cone-shaped clusters of fragrant flowers from summer to fall. Newer varieties are often seedless, which helps prevent them from spreading where they’re not wanted.

Growing Tips: Plant in full sun for the best bloom. It’s drought-tolerant once established and benefits from heavy pruning in early spring.
Key Varieties: ‘Pugster Blue’ (compact with large flowers), ‘Miss Ruby’ (magenta pink).

Bee Balm (Monarda)

A native perennial that brings a burst of color and a hub of wildlife activity. Its shaggy, tubular flowers sit atop tall stems and are adored by hummingbirds. The leaves have a wonderful minty aroma when crushed.

Growing Tips: Grows best in full sun to part shade with good air circulation to prevent powdery mildew. It can spread vigorously in ideal conditions.
Key Varieties: ‘Jacob Cline’ (bright red, mildew resistant), ‘Pardon My Cerise’ (dwarf variety).

Bellflower (Campanula)

Bellflowers offer charming, bell-shaped blooms in shades of blue, purple, pink, and white. They range from low-growing ground covers to tall border plants, providing versatile options for different garden spots.

Growing Tips: Most prefer full sun to partial shade and moist, well-drained soil. Deadhead spent flowers to encourage more blooms.
Key Varieties: Serbian bellflower (ground cover), peach-leaved bellflower (tall spikes for the back of a border).

Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)

This cheerful, daisy-like flower is a staple in summer gardens. Its golden-yellow petals surround a dark brown center, and it blooms for weeks with minimal care. It’s a fantastic cut flower and very drought tolerant.

Growing Tips: Thrives in full sun and average soil. It’s a prolific self-seeder, so you might get volunteer plants the following year.
Key Varieties: ‘Goldsturm’ (the classic perennial), ‘Indian Summer’ (large annual flowers).

Borage

Borage is a wonderful herb that doubles as a garden flower. Its star-shaped, bright blue flowers are edible and have a light cucumber flavor. It’s a great companion plant, believed to improve the growth and flavor of nearby vegetables like tomatoes.

Growing Tips: Sow seeds directly in the garden in full sun. It readily self-seeds, so plant it where you won’t mind it returning.
Special Note: The leaves and stems are covered in fine hairs, so handle with gloves if you have sensitive skin.

Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila)

Known for its cloud-like masses of tiny white or pink flowers, this plant adds airy texture to gardens and is a classic filler in floral arrangements. Both annual and perennial forms are available.

It prefers alkaline, well-drained soil and lots of sun. The perennial types can develop deep taproots, so choose their location carefully as they don’t like to be moved.

Planning Your Garden With B-Flowers

To make the most of these plants, think about their bloom times and heights. Place taller plants like Butterfly Bush at the back of a border, with medium-height Black-Eyed Susans in the middle, and low-growing Begonias at the front. This creates a layered look that’s pleasing to the eye.

Care and Maintenance Basics

While each flower has its own needs, some general tips apply to many of these plants:

Soil Preparation: Most flowers that start with b do best in soil that drains well. Adding compost at planting time improves fertility and structure.
Watering: Water deeply at the base of plants to encourage strong roots. Early morning is the best time to water, as it allows foliage to dry, reducing disease risk.
Deadheading: Regularly removing spent flowers encourages many plants to produce more blooms instead of setting seed. It keeps your garden looking tidy to.
Winter Prep: For perennial varieties, a layer of mulch applied in late fall can help protect roots from freezing temperatures.

Lesser-Known Gems Starting With B

Beyond the classics, there are some exceptional plants worth seeking out.

Balloon Flower (Platycodon)

Named for its unique flower buds that puff up like little balloons before opening into star-shaped blooms. This long-lived perennial is very low-maintenance once established and comes in beautiful shades of blue, pink, and white.

Brunnera

Primarily grown for its stunning, heart-shaped leaves that are often silvered or veined, Brunnera also produces delicate sprays of tiny blue flowers in spring. It’s a perfect solution for brightening up shady corners where color can be hard to find.

Baptisia (False Indigo)

This native perennial is a tough, shrub-like plant with spires of pea-like flowers in blue, white, or yellow. It forms a handsome mound of blue-green foliage and develops interesting seed pods. It’s very drought tolerant and has a deep root system, making it difficult to move, so plant it in its forever home.

Common Problems and Solutions

Even the best gardens face challenges. Here’s how to handle issues with some common B-flowers.

Powdery Mildew on Bee Balm: Ensure plants have plenty of space for air flow. Water at the soil level, not overhead. Choose resistant varieties.
Leggy Begonias: Pinch back the growing tips of young plants to encourage bushier growth. If they get to tall and sparse, you can take cuttings to start new, fuller plants.
Butterfly Bush Not Flowering: This almost always due to insufficient sunlight. They need at least 6-8 hours of direct sun daily. Also, avoid over-fertilizing with high-nitrogen formulas, which promotes leaves over flowers.

FAQ: Flowers Beginning With B

What are some blue flowers that start with b?
Great options include Balloon Flower (Platycodon), Brunnera, Bachelor’s Button (Centaurea), and some varieties of Bellflower (Campanula) and Baptisia.

Which b-starting flowers are good for shade?
Begonia, Bleeding Heart, and Brunnera are all excellent choices for partial to full shade gardens. They provide reliable color where sun-loving plants won’t thrive.

Are there any fragrant flowers beginning with b?
Yes! Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) is highly fragrant and attracts pollinators. Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus), while not covered in detail here, is another fragrant biennial that starts with B.

What is the easiest flower starting with b to grow from seed?
Borage and Bachelor’s Button are among the easiest. You can sow their seeds directly in the garden after the last frost. Black-Eyed Susan also readily grows from seed with minimal fuss.

Can I grow these flowers in pots?
Absolutely. Begonias, smaller Bellflower varieties, and compact Butterfly Bushes like the ‘Pugster’ series are perfectly suited for container gardening. Just ensure the pot has good drainage holes.

Incorporating these wonderful flowers that start with b into your plans will add depth and interest to your garden throughout the seasons. With so many choices, from the bold to the delicate, you’re sure to find the perfect plants to make your garden space even more special. Start with one or two that suit your conditions, and enjoy the process of watching them grow.