There is a stunning amount of flowers that start with B, so it’s not possible to cover all of them in this list. However, we did pick out some of the most popular ones that range from native wildflowers to beautiful perennial and annuals. We put special emphasis on varieties that are easy to grow for the new gardeners.
Whatever flowers that start with B you choose, they’ll all make a bright splash in your landscape design, garden, or along your walkways all summer long.
There are hundreds of flowers that start with B, but some are much more widespread and popular than others due to their low maintenance nature. Begonia by Peter Stenzel / CC BY-ND 2.0
Contents
1. Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii)
As a native flower that starts with B to Baja, California, it’s a low-growing species that puts on a fantastic display of white or blue flowers. In more moderate climates, you’ll start to see the blooms crp up during the late winter months and continue on through early summer and late spring. They’ll give you some of the first pops of color as the snow melts.
To get this flower that starts with B to thrive, you should plant it in an area that gets partial shade to full sun. The soil should be gritty and sandy to allow for excellent drainage. It’s a very important coastal prairie flower, and it’ll attract hordes of bees and butterflies wherever you plant it.
2. Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila paniculata)
This flower that starts with B is mostly used as a bouquet filler, but it forms very airy and light clouds of delicate, tiny white blossoms that offer a stunning display in your flower garden. You can get perennial and annual varieties of this flower, and it also comes in several pink shades. The plants like full sun with alkaline soil that drains very well between watering sessions.
In some parts of the United States, this plant is widely considered to be a noxious weed. Before you plant it, you should double-check the local extension office before you plant it in your garden.
3. Bachelor’s Button (Centaurea cyanus)
Also known better as the coneflower, this flower that starts with B is a member of the Asteraceae family. It commonly displays pretty blue flowers, but some varieties that offer white, purple, pink, red, or bicolor combinations. It’ll start to bloom in the late spring month and go until the first frost in the fall, and it can get up to three feet tall.
Even though it’s an annual, this plant will self-seed. It likes to be in locations with full sun, and you won’t have to water it a lot to keep it healthy and thriving. It’s a European wildflower that several states now classify as invasive, so you have to contact the local extension agency before you plant it to avoid fines. If it’s not invasive in your state, make sure you put it in a well-contained area to prevent it from spreading out of control.
4. Ball Cactus (Parodia Magnifica)
This flower that starts with B is a South American native that has become very popular in recent years as an indoor cacti. It has a very unique appearance without being finicky with the care to make it a great choice for beginners. It can reach up to three feet tall and up in the right conditions when you plant it in the natural habitat in the ground. It won’t get nearly this large indoors where you have limited space. Indoors, the cacti will get between 8 and 12-inches tall and offer various spherical stems that come from the plant’s base.
5. Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandiflorus)
Better known as the Balloon Vine or the Japanese Bellflower, this flower that starts with B is a climbing vine or a herbaceous ground cover. This plant does require a decent amount of maintenance. However, in spite of this, they are relatively easy to keep healthy and growing.
This is a very deep-rooted plant that will tolerate most growing conditions. It can grow in partial shade or full sun without an issue, and it prefers fertile, moist soil with a huge amount of organic matter mixed in. This plant will start blooming in the very early morning hours when the temperature is cooler. Around midday, the flowers will start to wilt because they’re very close to the ground.
This flower comes with very fragrant purplish-blue flowers that are trumpet-shaped, so they open in a tube shape and flare out at the ends. They start to bloom in the spring and continue through the summer months. During the winter, you can grow them as houseplants if you don’t get frost in your area. They also grow very well in various containers on your porch or patio.
Unlike some cacti that are very finicky, the ball cactus is relatively easy to grow in gritty soil with minimal water and a lot of light. Golden Barrel Cactus – Echinocactus grusonii by Bjorn S… / CC BY-SA 2.0
6. Bee Balm (Monarda sp.)
This flower that starts with B is a native wildflower, and you can get colors that range from cool lavender to warmer hues of red, and it’s wonderful for attracting butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees. The flowers have a very unique head with a tubular shape that will bloom from the early summer months until the later fall, especially if you take the time to deadhead them after they bloom.
You can plant bee balm in very well-drained soil in an area that gets full sun each day. The soil should be moist but never soaked because this can lead the plant to develop rot or powdery mildew problems. You may hear it referred to as bergamot, and you don’t want to confuse it with the citrus that gets used to give Earl Gray tea the unique flavor. You can brew both the flowers and leaves to create a very aromatic herbal tea.
7. Begonia (Begonia sp.)
This is a very low-maintenance and popular flower that starts with B that grows well in a huge range of conditions, from full sun to full shade. Also, you can easily plant it in containers or in the ground, and some varieties of Begonias make perfect houseplants because they do well under artificial light. You’ll get very attractive, unique foliage with flowers that come in shades of yellow, red, orange, pink, or white. The flowers will bloom from the summer to late fall months, and you can plant them in any soil that drains well as soon as the threat of the last frost of the spring passes.
8. Bellflower (Campanula sp.)
When this flower that starts with B blooms, you’ll get rare autumn flowers. It starts blooming in the last week of September and goes through the first week in October, so it’s a relatively short period. However, it’s a very pretty ornamental flower that makes a nice addition to your houseplants. You can grow this plant easily in alkaline or acidic soil, but the best soil is a slightly acidic one. So, you can easily pair it with most crops.
The bellflower’s height will range from eight inches on the low end up to just over a foot, depending on the species you pick out. There are dozens of types of bellflowers available on the current market, and some of the most popular include Cory ex Small, Clintonia uniflora, Carpenteria californica Linn, Delphinium denudatum R, Campanula medium Linn, and Eustoma grandiflorum (Raf.) Sweet. You can get this flower in shades of white as well as blue, and it’ll bloom with the face of the flower turned toward the sun.
9. Bells of Ireland (Moluccella laevis)
The standout feature of this flower that starts with B isn’t actually the flowers themselves. Instead, the taller spikes of bell-shaped, green calyces that nearly overtake the tiny white flowers in the center make it eye-catching. It’s native to the eastern Mediterranean areas, and they live in very dry conditions. You should plant them in partial to full shade in an area that has cooler summers. If you get the growing conditions corect, the plants will reseed readily.
10. Bergenia
This evergreen perennial flower that starts with B grows readily in the mountains of Europe and Asia, but it’s also extremely common to find them growing as pretty houseplants. This plant is a member of the Saxifragaceae family, and this family also includes the perennials Heucheras and Astilbes.
It does best when you plant it in a shaded area like in a forest garden where it won’t get any direct sunlight. They love to be in moist soil that will stay consistently damp without being soaked, and you never want the soil to dry out completely. You should fertilize them twice per year with a slow-release fertilizer, once during the spring at the beginning of the growing season and once during the late summer. If you regularly deadhead the plant, new blooms will appear.
This isn’t a very well-known evergreen perennial, but it can produce very pretty flowers that have a unique look in a purple hue to make them eye-catching. Bergenia by Александр Б. / CC BY 2.0
11. Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia sp.)
As a tropical evergreen plant, this flower that starts with B offers greenish-gray leaves with a waxy look and feel, and they look very similar to the banana plant. The stunningly unique flowers look like a bird in flight or a bird’s head, and this is where the name comes from.
If you plant it in a location with full sun, you’ll get many more flowers with shorter stems. Planting it in a shady location will give you taller stalks with bigger blooms. It can only grow outside in zones 9 to 12, but it works wonderfully as a houseplant in cooler climates.
12. Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
This yellow, sunny wildflower will grow amazingly well in a huge range of soils, and you can plant it in light shade to full sun. This flower that starts with B can attract a range of pollinators, and they also attract rabbits, deer, and other wildlife. So, if you’re trying to keep these animals out of your yard but you still want this sunny flower, you’ll have to counter it by planting rosemary, lavender, or other repelling, fragrant plants near the black-eyed susans. The low-maintenance and pretty flowers will bloom from later in the spring months until fall.
13. Blackthorn (Prunus Spinosa)
Also called sloe, this flower that starts with B is a deciduous shrub that’ll flower throughout the summer. It’s part of the rose family, and you can find it growing in several regions in Europe and Asia as far as Africa. It’s also a naturalized species to Tasmania, New Zealand, and the United States.
Technically speaking, this plant is considered to be a smaller tree that can get between 3 and 16 feet tall. It has black-colored bark with thorn-tipped and spiny branches that are stiff. However, they offer a great structure to support the stunning flowers when they bloom. The flowers have an astringent-like scent to them, and they have five cream or whtie petals with 20 stamens and a carpel. If you look at them from a distance, they can mimic the look of cherry blossoms since the bloom is so wide. They’re hermaphroditic and insect-pollinated.
14. Blanket Flower (Gaillardia pulchella)
Another native flower that starts with B, this plant is part of the Asteraceae family. You’ll get daisy-like, hairy yellow and red blossoms that feature darker red centers. It does very well when you plant it in a location with full sun, and it loves the dry summer heat. Additionally, it’s a nice choice for beginners as it likes dry, poor soil conditions.
Generally speaking, this flower that starts with B will get between 12 and 18 inches tall, and the upright stems can reach up to two feet tall. The flowers will bloom from late spring through the fall months, and they do wonderfully in meadows, cottage gardens, and rock gardens. When you have the best conditions possible, this plant will reseed.
15. Blazing Star (Liatris sp.)
The tall spikes on this flower that starts with B are purple, pink, or white. They’ll start to bloom from the top down, just like sparklers burn down from top to bottom. The nectar-filled bright blossoms will attract pollinators like butterflies, finches love eating the seeds that follow the flowers. This is a prairie native that is very easy to grow, but it does need full sun. It’ll tolerate drought and poor soil conditions without a problem.
16. Bleeding Heart (Dicentra sp.)
This flower that starts with B gets the name from the pretty heart-shaped flowers that drip down from gently arching stems. D. spectabilis is an old-fashioned but classic species, but there are other variants of this heart-shaped plant now available. One example is the fringed bleeding heart that is native to the eastern portion of the United States, or Dutchman’s Breeches. If you live on the west coast, there is a western version of this plant that looks like fine-fringed, small species. Because it’s a woodland perennial, this plant likes cooler temperatures, full to partial shade, and regular watering sessions.
Bleeding hearts are immensely popular hanging basket plants as it tends to gently cascade down the sides of the planter on delicate stems. Bleeding hearts by Samantha Forsberg / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
17. Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta)
Bluebells are arguably one of the prettiest spring flowers, this flower that starts with B has a very sweet scent and looks fabulous when it blooms. The bluebell name refers to the petal color as it’s a very bright blue-lavender. The flowers also come with dark green leaves that can get several inches long and contrast nicely with the blooms. This is a slightly smaller plant with a nice charm to it, especially when you consider that you’ll see dozens of the tiny flowers at one time when they bloom in the spring.
18. Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium)
You may hear this flower that starts with B referred to as Blue-Eyed Iris, Blue Eyes, Blue-Eyed Flower, or Blue-Eye Grasses. This is an angiosperm, or it’s a flowering plant that encloses the seeds in capsules that eventually turn into a fruit. It grows naturally throughout the United States. However, they do best if you plant them and live in Michigan, Alabama, New York, or Maine.
19. Blue Lace Flower (Trachymene coerulea)
A native to Australia, this flower that starts with B is eye-catching and very low-maintenance. They do very well planted in cut flower gardens or in sunny borders around your yard. In sunny and hot climates, you should plant it in a place that gets shade in the afternoon to prevent scorching.
Each slender stalk on this plant will give you a star-shaped flower that is very tiny in shades of purple or blue. It’s a very sweet-scented flower that will start to bloom in the late summer months and go to the first frost. At full maturity, they can reach between 24 and 30 inches.
20. Blue Marguerite Daisy (Felicea amelloides)
As the name suggests, this flower that starts with B has a very stunning look with bright blue petals and a contrasting yellow center. It does best when you plant it in an area with mild summer in a dryer climate, so it’s a great addition to your garden if you live in the Pacific Northwest or Northeast.
However, if you live in a warmer area with no frost during the winter months, this flower that starts with B will turn into a very shrubby perennial. It does need a minimum of six hours of sunlight each day, but you want to give in some afternoon sun in hotter climates to protect it from wilting.
21. Boomrape (Orobanche)
The boomrape flowers have a very irregular but unique look to them, and you grow them from the Orobanche plant. Technically speaking, this flower that starts with B is a type of herb. The plant produces little to no chlorophyll. Instead, it gets all of the nutrients it needs from other plant’s roots using a process known as small suckers or haustoria.
Due to the fact that there isn’t any or there is very little chlorophyll production, the flowers will turn a bluish-purple. Other species offer brown, yellow, or white flowers, and they bloom with a shape that looks like a snapdragon. The plant will be between two and six inches tall, so it’s very short.
22. Borage (Borago officinalis)
Many people call this flower that starts with B a starflower, and it’s a Mediterranean herb that offers star-shaped but spidery flowers when it blooms. The flowers will be purple or blue, but you can also find pink or white. It has a very hairy stem and leaves to give it a unique texture, and it gets between two and three feet tall at full maturity. This plant may not be the most appetizing looking due to the bristles, but you can use the cucumber-flavored leaves in tea. The flowers also make a nice topping for cakes and salads.
These very pretty deep blue flowers stand up on slender stalks with darker green foliage to make a nice contrast. Borage by Peter Stenzel / CC BY-ND 2.0
23. Bouvardia
This is a genus of plants from the Rubiaceae family. You’ll find them growing in South America, Central America, and North America. It offers very bright magenta-pink coloring on the flower leaves with a bright yellow center. So, it makes sense that the flowers attract butterflies and bees for pollination. You can grow them as an annual or bring them indoors as a houseplant in the winter months. It requires full sun exposure and average water that mimics the natural environment to do well indoors.
24. Buckbean (Menyanthes trifoliata)
Also referred to as bogbean, this flower that starts with B is a native wildflower. It grows well in marshes, bogs, and moist woodland soil right around your ponds. You’ll see big clusters of star-like, frilly flowers in a white hue that will only bloom very briefly during the spring or summer months. They’re a great plant to put in a location that is too wet for most flowers. You want to put it in an area that is constantly wet and that gets part shade to full sun. Planting it along the outer edge of a more shallow water garden is ideal.
25. Bugloss (Echium vulgare)
When spring hits, a decent-sized field full of this flower that starts with B will turn into a pleasing attraction. Better known as Viper’s Bugloss, this flowering plant falls into the Boraginaceae family. You’ll find it growing in North America, parts of Europe, and in Asia. It can get between one and three feet tall at full maturity, and it’s considered to be a monocarpic biennial or perennial. You’ll get clusters of vibrant and stunning blue flowers, and it typically blooms pink before fading to blue. The filaments are red, and this makes a wonderful contrast.
Taking care of this flower that starts with B won’t be intensive or time-consuming as it’s low-maintenance. However, if you look at the symbolism, it can link to falsehoods. So, you don’t want to give a bouquet of it out.
26. Bush Violet (Browallia speciosa)
This South American shrubby nightshade will bloom in June and continue on through September. This flower that starts with B will produce tubular-shaped flowers with a white center. They can get up to two feet tall at full maturity, and they do very well when you place them in hanging baskets or containers, woodland gardens, or in borders. They like well-draining soils that stay consistently moist, and they love part shade to full sun.
If you grow them in zones 9 to 10, they can be a perennial. In cooler planting zones, you can bring them indoors during the winter months as a houseplant. It’s a nice cold-hardy plant that starts with B that likes moderate moisture at all times. They can also tolerate short droughts without a problem. You want to remove the seed heads to prevent them from spreading as some of them are classed as invasive.
27. Buttercup (Ranunculus)
The final flower that starts with B on the list is the Buttercup. This is a flowering perennial plant that offers cheerful yellow flowers. They grow very well in meadows, alongside paths or roads, or in woodlands throughout North America and Europe. They have five petals like the rose, and they can get up to four inches wide. They produce very small black seeds that ants spread when they collect nectar from the pollen.
Bottom Line
We’ve outlined 27 beautiful flowers that start with B, and you can look and see which ones will do well in your specific planting zone or environment. When you pick them out, you can get a colorful show from spring until well into the autumn months.
Jen is a master gardener, interior designer and home improvement expert. She has completed many home improvement, decor and remodeling projects with her family over the past 10 years on their 4,500 sf Victorian house. She is also a passionate farmer who keeps goats, chickens, turkeys cows and pigs on her farm, and an instructor for her community’s Organic and Sustainable Farming project.