25 Flowers for Container Gardens
Flowers for the balcony garden come in almost every color and shape imaginable. Many flowers do well in small containers and bring splashes of color to balcony container gardens. The following 25 beautiful flowers are popular and easy plants to consider for your balcony container garden. Click on the flower’s name to learn more about its care. To learn about more flowers that thrive in containers, peruse BalconyContainerGardening.com’s Fact Sheets.
1. Azaleas
Azaleas are flowering bushes that have impressive, showy flower blooms in the summer. Their large, colorful flowers last for weeks, and they look beautiful when cut and displayed in a vase inside. Popular in Southern-style gardens, the azalea plant is often grown as a large bush. In balcony container gardens, however, these bushes will need to be pruned – they can actually be pruned to resemble small flowering trees. There are many species, varieties and hybrids of azaleas, and you are likely to find any color and flower shape to suit your balcony garden’s conditions. Learn more about azalea flower care>>
2. Calla Lilies
Calla lily flowers, also called trumpet lilies or Lily of the Nile, most often have waxy-white flowers that gracefully twist and curl, ending in a delicate point. Calla lily flowers can also come in pink, orange or red, and the dark green, heart-shaped foliage can also be variegated with white spots. Calla lily plants are native to marshlands of South Africa but have gained popularity in gardens in the United States as marginal pond plants and container plants. It is a popular flower for weddings and Easter, and cut calla lily flowers last a long time in floral displays. The calla lily grows to 2 feet tall and can be grown in plant containers, and there are also miniature calla lily varieties that you can keep. Learn more about calla lily flower care>>
3. Celosia
Celosia flowers, also called woolflowers or cockscombs, have unusual flowers that can bloom up to 10 weeks. These flowers can have red, pink, purple, gold or bicolored blooms. When many celosia flower blooms are next to each other, they collectively resemble fire, which is why the genus name Celosia, meaning burning in Greek, was chosen. The common name of cockscomb comes from the bloom’s resemblance to a rooster’s comb. Not all celosia flowers look this way – there are many shapes, colors and sizes (from 6 inches to 2 feet). And each blossom is made up of many tiny flowers, which is why this flower will produce numerous small seeds and keep sprouting in your plant containers with no extra effort on your part. Celosia flowers also look great in vases and bouquets, so you can bring their beauty indoors. Read more about celosia flower care>>
4. Chamomile
Chamomile is a beautiful little white-petaled flower that can be dried and made into a fruity-tasting herbal tea. If you are growing chamomile in your balcony garden to make tea, get the German chamomile variety and not Roman chamomile. This container plant can is usually only about 9 inches tall, but it can grow to 2 feet, and it spreads up to 2 feet across. Chamomile flowers look like dasiies and are about 1 inch in diameter. Read more about chamomile flower care>>
5. Chrysanthemums
Chrysanthemum flowers, also called mums or chrysanths, come in many varieties and colors that are suitable for a balcony container garden. The two main chrysanthemum variety types are hardy and florist chrysanthemums. Hardy chrysanthemum flowers (aka garden hardy) do well in cooler weather and can be overwintered outside in the container garden. Florist (aka exhibition) chrysanthemums do well in mild need more attention (i.e., staking, overwintering indoors) and are more delicate, but they produce some of the most beautiful flower blooms. The late-blooming chrysanthemum flowers give gardens color throughout the fall season and are often the last flowers to bloom before winter. Learn more about chrysanthemum flower care>>
6. Daffodils
Daffodills, also called Narcissus, are hardy flowering plants that mostly flower in spring, but several species (such as Narcissus tazetta, commonly called paperwhites) flower in Autumn. All daffodil flowers have a trumpet surrounded by six floral leaves (outer three are sepals, and the inner three are petals). Most common daffodil flower colors are yellow, white or a mixture of the two. The daffodil flower has a pleasant sweet smell. Daffodils are great flowering plants for balcony container gardens. Learn more about daffodil flower care>>
7. Dahlias
Dahlia flowers do best in plant containers that are at least 1 by 1 foot, and low-growing and dwarf dahlia varieties are best for container gardening. There are so many dahlia flower varieties that every gardener can find something for their garden. These flowers come in every color imaginable for a flower except for blue. A blue dahlia flower has never been produced, even after the Caledonia Horticultural Society of Edinburgh offered a cash prize for the first person to grow a blue dahlia in 1846! Learn more about dahlia flower care>>
8. Daisies
Common daisies are beautiful flowers found in many flowerbeds and vase arrangements. The white-petaled daisy flower with its yellow center does well in plant containers and is easy to grow and care for in balcony gardens. Daisy blooms are most commonly white, but they can also be light pink to purple-red, depending on the variety. Daisy blooms should appear from early spring to late autumn. Many other flowers go by the name “daisy,” but the common daisy is usually what gardeners picture when thinking of the typical daisy flower. Daisy flowers bloom close to the ground (it only grows to about 6 inches tall) and are rather small (about 2.5 inches in diameter). Learn more about daisy flower care>>
9. Dianthus
Dianthus flowers are perfect for plant containers and will bring a splash of color to any urban balcony garden. Dianthus flowers come in many colors, either it be a solid white, red, purple, pink and sometimes yellow, or with two colors or marks in the petals. The height of this flower ranges from 6 inches to 3 feet, and there are so many Dianthus varieties that any gardener can find a beautiful Dianthus species to fit his or her balcony garden. Learn more about Dianthus flower care>>
10. Foxgloves
The common foxglove plant produces beautiful cascading trumpetlike flowers that range from purple to gray to white. Depending on the species and variety, foxglove flowers can be different colors (yellow, pink, red, etc.) or have spots inside of the blooms. Its flowers inspired the plant’s genus name, Digitalis, meaning fingerlike, and a human finger can fit easily into one of the flowers. Learn more about foxglove flower care>>
11. Geraniums
The common geranium flower blooms from mid-spring to early fall. Its 4- to 5-inch-wide flower clusters come in many colors – pink, purple, red or white. This gorgeous flower is a staple in balcony gardens and grows well in plant containers. Learn more about geranium flower care>>
12. Impatiens
There are many species in the Impatiens genus, but the varieties that you’ll find at your local garden shop are annual hybrids (some Impatiens species are perrenials). This commonly used flower usually shows up in flowerbeds, but they also look great in windowboxes, plant containers and hanging containers, and will even do well in a shady balcony garden. Learn more about impatiens flower care>>
13. Lavender
The aromatic lavender plant has beautiful purple-blue flowers and adds height to a container garden. It makes a great companion plant with vegetables and herbs, and it will attract beneficial insects to your garden, including butterflies, bees and other pollinators. Learn more about lavender flower care>>
14. Marigolds
These beautiful gold, orange, yellow or white flowers (and a mixture of these colors) are often planted in butterfly gardens. They attract butterflies, but ward off other undesireable insects with their pungent odor. Plant these flowering container plants next to your tomato, eggplant, chili pepper and potato plants, as marigolds deter some pest insects that can harm these plants. Learn more about marigold flower care>>
15. Morning Glories
The morning glory flower is a climbing vine with heart-shaped leaves blooms in the mornings. Morning glory blooms, which only last one day, come in a variety of colors (pink, purple, red and white, while blue is the most common) and usually bloom in mid-summer to late fall. Morning glory flowers can begin to bloom in March in warmer climates. These beautiful flowers grow well in plant containers on balcony gardens. Balcony gardeners can attach fishing line or durable string from the balcony railing to the roof and train the morning glory plant to grow along the string. This growth will provide dappled shade (you can intersperse white Christmas lights on these lines if there is an electricity outlet outside). Learn more about morning glory flower care>>
16. Orchids
Phalaenopsis orchids, aka moth orchids, are the most commonly kept orchid flowers in the gardening hobby. There are thousands of orchid hybrids, and many are almost impossible to care for. If you choose a cheap orchid that you find in the grocery store or local garden shop, the odds are that it is an easier variety. These varieties are easy to keep alive, as long as the gardener realizes that orchid care is much different than most container plants that we keep. Learn more about orchid flower care>>
17. Pansies
Pansies are hybrid flowers that were developed in England in the early 1800s. Because pansies have been selectively bred by humans, they are hardy and bloom quickly. Flower colors include yellow, gold, orange, purple, red and white, and pansy flowers often have “faces” (think of the singing flowers in Alice in Wonderland). Pansy flowers are easy to care for and do well in container gardens. Learn more about pansy flower care>>
18. Peonies
Peonies are easy flowers with large, colorful and wonderfully scented blooms have large, deep root systems, so when growing them in plant containers, make sure to give them a lot of extra room. They can grow down at least 1 foot, so provide a large container for these flowers. Once established, peonies require little maintenance. There are many peony varieties to choose from, and flowers, which bloom in late spring or early summer, can be white, pink, red, yellow, orange, or purple. Learn more about peony flower care>>
19. Petunias
This classic flower for plant containers comes in many colors, mostly blue, white, and shades of pink. There are a few different petunia flower varieties: large flowers (grandiflora), ground cover (hedgiflora), smaller flowers good for baskets (multiflora), or small flowers that do well in harsh weather (milliflora). Learn more about petunia flower care>>
20. Primroses
Blooming in early spring, the primrose flower is one of the first flowers to bloom after winter. And, luckily, the primrose treats container gardeners with a flowering encore and blooms again in the fall. There are many varieties of primrose that can grow in plant containers, and flower colors include blues, pinks, reds, yellow, orange and purple. Many primrose plants have a bright yellow color in the flower’s center. These are easy container garden flowers that will delight you with beautiful blooms twice a year. Learn more about primrose flower care>>
21. Roses
There are many rose flower varieties that grow well in plant containers – you can choose a color, size, shape and fragrance that suits you and your balcony garden space. But because there are so many rose varieties, you should read books about roses, join an online forum discussion, a local gardening or rose club, or ask a knowledgeable staff member at your local garden shop about what varieties will work for you. Learn more about rose care>>
22. Snapdragons
Also known as the dragon flower, snapdragons are small but fragrant flowers that are easy to grow in plant containers. Snapdragon flowers are colorful and dominant, often having so many blooms that the plant's foliage below is hidden. Snapdragon flowers come in many varieties, including dwarf (8 inches tall) to tall ones (3 feet) and in an array of colors, including pastel colors, reds, pinks, yellows and even bicolored flowers. These beautiful flowers can be cut and displayed indoors. Learn more about snapdragon flower care>>
23. Sunflowers
Ten-foot giant sunflowers really can be grown in plant containers (even in small 3-gallon nursery pots). These beautiful native American flowers must be planted in full sun, or they can topple over while trying to reach sun. But growing these beauties in your balcony container garden will attract attention from the people in your neighborhood, as well as a lot of wildlife. The sunflower's floret patterns (what eventually turn into seeds) are displayed on the circular flower head in an amazing spiral pattern. This, in addition to making a beautiful flower display, ensures that the most seeds are crammed into the sunflower's flower head as possible. Learn more about sunflower care>>
24. Tulips
Tulips (up to 12 inches) can have pink, purple, red, dark red, orange, red orange or yellow flowers. The sweet-smelling flowers appear in early spring after periods of cold temperatures, which are necessary for tulips to thrive. These flowers are great for container gardens in colder climates: Tulips survive frosts and freezing temperatures. Learn more about tulip care>>
25. Zinnias
Zinnias are beautiful flowers that are great for butterfly gardens. Zinnia flowers come in white, light green, yellow, orange, red and purple. There are many different Zinnia species, but the most common is Z. elegans. Zinnias have different flower petal arrangements – some have a single row of flower petals, while others have multiple rows that give the flower a more full, dome shape. These easy-to-grow flowers are great for plant containers in urban balcony gardens. Learn more about zinnia flower care>>
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