10 Prettiest, Easy-to-Grow, Red Flowers for Your Garden

Red flowers have always been a favourite of both amateur and experienced gardeners. The colour alone shouts, ‘Here I am!’ from a distance, enticing you to take a closer look. Red flowers have traditionally expressed intensity of passion and love in its entirety.  Red is not only a warm colour, it’s a strong statement. Having red plants and flowers in the garden illustrates and underlines the boldness of beauty. 

Red plants and flowers vociferously stand out even in the greyest of weathers, creating instant impact. They cannot and will not go unnoticed. Here are some easy-to-grow, pretty, red plants and flowers to grow in your garden. I’ve certainly had fun growing them.

Roses

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Roses will head this list because no garden is complete without one of the most versatile of all plants – red roses. No matter how many other roses you’ve grown, red ones are definitely special because they loudly stand out against any background. Red roses can be cut and brought indoors but if left in the garden, they’re the magical genies that brighten up a host of other colours and drab corners. Grow them against a fence for an instant, boisterous lift. Plant them beside an evergreen tree for added interest against a sea of green. They’re fabulous for pots and can grow up against the side of your house (regardless of the colour). Plant them at your back or front door to welcome guests with an intense burst of scent and colour during the spring, and right through to summer.

If in doubt of what to plant, red roses will always do the trick and will never, ever let you down. Go on and try it. As long as you get it established, prune after flowering and feed in growing season. Don’t worry about aphids. You can wash them off with water and washing up liquid sprayed from a spray-top bottle. This is what I do as this is quick, effective and green.

Tulips

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As I said in my white flowers article, tulips are wonderful flowers with which to welcome in the warmer weather. Plant them out in the autumn about 10-12 inches in the ground, in well-drained soil (tip: sprinkle a bit of garden sand at the bottom of the hole). You can place them among other plants which flower in later spring and summer. The bulbs would’ve flowered by the time they’ve woken up. This is a great way to have different plants existing in the same place without encroaching into each other’s space.  

Red tulips sometimes come painted with strips and spots of gold and white, an added bonus for plants already so unique and glorious in their own right. Once stems have flowered, nip off the tip and leave them to die down on their own. This will give them a chance to re-feed and nourish themselves. Once planted, you will enjoy an abundance of red tulips in the spring of every year.

Poppies

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Poppies come in various colours, but red poppies are the most popular and energetic of all, maybe because of their important significance to our time. They grow happily in the wild and can be easily cultivated to grow in your garden. They bask and dance in the sunshine, their bold, red petals, kissing the warm rays of the summer sunshine.  Poppies are not only beautiful, they’re useful as well as the seeds are used in baking and cooking.  Sow poppy seeds in your garden and watch them come up year after year for your enjoyment.

Virginia creeper

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The red Virginia creeper does not flower per se. It’s the foliage that’s impressive in early autumn. Once planted in well-drained soil, the Virginia creeper is more than capable of looking after itself. Every winter, once it’s lost its leaves and you can actually see the stems, if required you can shape it or guide it where you want it to go. It flourishes generously every spring and by summer can provide shade and/or beautiful cover for fences or arbours. I have one growing in the back garden over an arbour. I’ve planted bulbs under it which thrive in early spring before the leaves have come out. By the time the bulbs have died back, the Virginia creeper is reborn in full force and provides shade for the arbour all summer long. In the autumn it turns a glorious, shimmering red, providing colour for the garden at a time of year when most of the other plants are preparing to pack up for the winter.

Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis Arvensis)

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It’s a shame that this lovely little flower has been called a weed to its very face. It very common in Europe and adds colour to every garden from spring all the way to autumn. I was stunned to find such an amazingly beautiful flower in my garden (without sowing it) and have since protected it from being cut down by my husband and his big, bad lawn mower. Although the leaves can be slightly toxic, the flowers can be eaten raw or cooked. In past times the Scarlet Pimpernel was even used as medicine. In Nepal it’s reaped, made into soap, and used for washing and bathing, but that’s not all, the flowers are also known as poor man’s barometer. Usually, they close in the middle of the afternoon, but if it’s going to rain they’re known to close earlier than that.  One can’t ask for more in a tiny plant. Beauty and brains don’t always exist together, but in this plant they certainly do.

Pyracantha

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I have a Pyracantha in my front garden. They can be trained to run up a fence or trellis or just kept as a shaped shrub. Plant out in the autumn and water in well. By the spring the plant should be established.  Nevertheless, during its first year you should check to see that it’s getting enough sunlight and water. I do nothing to my shrub except to trim it in the autumn. The plant flowers furiously in the spring and stand proud in the garden in a show of splendour and generosity. The berries come out right after, providing you with a shrub completely covered in brilliant red berries. It’s remarkable!  This little shrub will provide food for the birds for the rest of the year.  For no work at all, you have a brilliant red plant, and a food source for the local wildlife.

Primrose (Primula Vulgaris)

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I got a small red primrose in a pot as a mother’s day present three years ago. Most people keep the little potted plants indoors then throw them away once the flowers have all gone. I planted mine out in the garden and have had annual flowers from it ever since.

Native to most of Europe, parts of Asia and northern Africa. The primrose is one of the simplest flowers to plant and maintain for a beginner gardener.  Plant out in early spring but if you already have them in your garden, you’ll benefit from splitting the plants at this time as well.  Add compost to the hole and mulch over the area once planted. They’re one of the earliest flowers to come out after winter, and herald in the warmer weather with a colourful spark of vivid colour.

This plant’s entire family has become very important to the English countryside, and in order to preserve the wild primrose, the authorities have made it illegal to pick the flowers from national parks and other natural habitats in which they grow.   These also make tasty additions to salads.

Crocosmia

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My first caution about the Crocosmia is to make sure that you want the area taken over by these flowers before you plant them into the ground. Within a few years of planting a few Crocosmia plants, you will have dozens seeded all over that area. They are exquisitely stunning , plagued by no known insects, and needs no work at all. However, they’re hard to get rid of once they take up residence, so maybe plant them in a pot if you haven’t got a big garden. They come in shades of yellow and orange as well and flower in late summer once the ground is warm enough for their roots to stand in happily. The Crocosmia plants are almost shocking in their vibrancy. I see them every day in the summer but still am awed by their showmanship qualities.

The leaves of this plant are what make the red flowers stand out even more. The bright, stunning green of the foliage present a stark contrast to the red of the flowers, creating a true, natural sculpture not present in any other summer flowering plant.  If plants have problems in flowering it means that they are too clumped together and need to be divided and planted out separately again.

Astilbe

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You only need to buy two plants, as every year or two in early spring you can divide each of them into two or three little plants. They will gladly spring up again, giving you glossy, bronze foliage in the spring and spike-like, blood-red flowers in the summer. I grow this plant not only for its excellent, unique foliage, but for the plumes of magnificent summer flowers it delivers.

The most beautiful thing about Astilbes is that they tolerate shade and will thrive and bring colour to places in your garden where nothing else will grow. They need to be kept moist in growing season, but since they’re not affected by any diseases or eaten by garden pests, they’re easy to take care of. As well as impact in the garden, the Astilbe’s bronze foliage can be cut and used indoors to beautify your vase of flowers.

Fuchsia

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The Fuchsia is one of the most versatile, beautiful plants I’ve come across. In my opinion, they have the most interesting flowers in the world. I’ve chosen the red ones to list here because in my experience, they are the most hardy.  In the past, Fuchsias were known as fussy, difficult plants, but I can’t agree with this at all.

There are some species that need a lot of care. They overwinter in the greenhouse or indoors, but come up in full strength while spending  the warmer weather outdoors. In warmer climates they thrive outdoors permanently, but so do the hardier types of Fuschias  I have planted in my garden.

Fuchsias range from being very small hanging baskets and potted plants, to small shrubs or even border plants. The amazing Fuchsia family flowers in different parts of the world, all the way from South America to New Zealand. As if their versatility wasn’t enough, they also come in various colours, even a mixture of colours in one flower.

Hardy fuchsias will withstand anything. I’ve replanted mine in several places at different times and they’re still going strong. Give them good compost and water in well to start off. In very cold climates, over winter the potted variety in the greenhouse for safekeeping. Remember to pinch out the tops of the stems to produce a thicker plant.

So, have you found a red one you like yet? If not have a look here to find some white flowers you may love.