better homes and gardens pink cookbook

pink Echinacea Razzmatazz coneflower

Credit: David Speer

Pink flowers can add a bold or a delicate touch to the garden. It just depends on which pink shade you choose to use in your landscape. Use light pink flowers for an airy feel or bright pink flowers that pop against a green background. Browse our favorite pink flowering plants.

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Rose Thrift

pink Rose Thrift Armeria maritima Rosea

Credit: Marty Baldwin

Perfect for your rock garden or along the edge of a bed or border, rose thrift adds a punch of pink flowers atop a grassy mound of foliage. The delicate foliage and small flowers are also a great addition to a fairy garden.

Name: Armeria maritima Rosea

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade, and well-drained soil

Size: 6-8 inches tall and wide

Zones: 3-9

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'Alice du Pont' Mandevilla

Pink 'Alice du Pont' Mandevilla

Credit: Bob Stefko

Soften your pergola or trellis with mandevilla, a heat-loving tropical vine that sports charming pink flowers all summer long. These flowering vines are low-maintenance and fast-growing.

Name: 'Alice du Pont'Mandevilla

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: Climbs up to 20 feet tall

Zones: 10-11

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'Ann Folkard' Geranium

Pink 'Ann Folkard' Geranium

Credit: Peter Symcox

A great companion for coralbells and lungwort, 'Ann Folkard' geranium weaves its chartreuse foliage through other flowers. This particular cultivar sports magenta-pink flowers.

Name: Geranium 'Ann Folkard'

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade, and well-drained soil

Size: 12-24 inches tall, 24-30 inches wide

Zones: 5-9

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'Catherine Woodbury' Daylily

light pink 'Catherine Woodbury' Daylily Hemerocallis

Credit: Matthew Benson

Add fragrance and beauty to your garden with no-fuss, pink-blooming 'Catherine Woodbury' daylily. One of the easiest perennials you can grow, it's sure to be a garden showstopper in early to midsummer.

Name: Hemerocallis 'Catherine Woodbury'

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade, and well-drained soil

Size: 3 feet tall

Zones: 3-9

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'Raspberry Wine' Bee Balm

pink 'Raspberry Wine' Bee Balm Monarda

Credit: Laurie Black

Attract butterflies and hummingbirds with bee balm's sweet fragrance. 'Raspberry Wine' offers beautiful rose-red flowers and good disease resistance, too.

Name: Monarda 'Raspberry Wine'

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade, and well-drained soil

Size: 30 inches tall

Zones: 3-9

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'Giles Van Hees' Veronica

Pink 'Giles Van Hees' Veronica

Credit: Andrew Drake

Ideal for small gardens, 'Giles Van Hees' is a compact veronica that's resistant to deer. This variety attracts hummingbirds and butterflies with its bright pink flowers.

Name: Veronica 'Giles Van Hees'

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade, and well-drained soil

Size: 6 inches tall

Zones: 4-9

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'Appleblossom' Yarrow

yarrow pink flowers

Credit: Tom McWilliam

'Appleblossom' yarrow is a garden favorite with its soft pink flowers that float above feathery, gray-green leaves. This yarrow variety is a great addition to a cottage garden and it's perfect for cutting and drying. It also offers great deer and rabbit resistance!

Name: Achillea 'Appleblossom'

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: 24 inches tall

Zones: 3-9

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Hollyhock

Hollyhock Alcea rosea

Credit: Susan A. Roth

Hollyhocks have been garden favorites for generations. And what's not to love about their towering spikes of hibiscus-shape flowers? The pink-flowering types are particularly fun in the garden as they seem to blend well with everything.

Name: Alcea rosea

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: 3-8 feet tall and 1-3 feet wide

Zones: 3-8

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'Party Dress' Anemone

Pink 'Party Dress' Anemone

Credit: Dency Kane

A striking addition to the garden, 'Party Dress' anemone pushes out big double pink blooms in autumn—a time when most gardens could really use an extra shot of color. They are also great cut flowers for a fall bouquet.

Name: Anemone 'Party Dress'

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade, and well-drained soil

Size: 36 inches tall and wide

Zones: 4-8

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'Pumila' Astilbe

Astilbe chinensis 'Pumila' Plant

Credit: Bryan E. McCay

A compact astilbe variety perfect for small spaces, 'Pumila' also offers great flower power. The fragrant pink blooms make it a garden superstar. Plus it's deer resistant!

Name: Astilbe 'Pumila'

Growing Conditions: Part sun to shade and well-drained soil

Size: 12 inches tall

Zones: 4-8

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'Dark Eyes' Fuchsia

dynamic view of red and purple fuchsia bloom

Credit: Rob Cardillo

Generally planted as an annual, 'Dark Eyes' fuchsia adds a touch of elegance to your garden with its draping, lantern-like, double purple flowers. Plant fuchsia in hanging baskets or containers to give your garden an extra pop of color.

Name: Fuchsia 'Dark Eyes'

Growing Conditions: Full sun to shade and well-drained soil

Size: 24-30 inches tall and wide

Zones: 8-10

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Carefree Beauty Rose

Pink Carefree Beauty Rose Rosa

Credit: Peter Krumhardt

Bred by the late Dr. Griffith Buck of Iowa State University, this wonderful shrub rose offers fragrant pink semidouble flowers all summer and fall. It has excellent disease resistance. Try planting it with burgundy foliage such as Diabolo ninebark or 'Velvet Cloak' smokebush.

Name: Carefree Beauty Rosa

Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil

Size: 4 feet tall and wide

Zones: 4-9

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Allium

Pink Allium oreophilum

Credit: Mark Kane

The perfect plant to celebrate spring in the rock garden, Allium oreophilum grows low and boasts pretty pink flowers. The whimsical, round blooms of allium are a great way to add height and unexpected color to the back of a flower bed.

Name: Allium oreophilum

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade, and well-drained soil

Size: 4 inches tall

Zones: 4-7

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Sugar Tip Rose of Sharon

Pink Sugar Tip Rose of Sharon Hibiscus syriacus

Credit: Marty Baldwin

Rose of Sharon brings tropical flair to the garden with its continuous supply of pink blooms. This standout hibiscus selection also offers variegated foliage! Use it for a focal point in the garden or as a privacy hedge.

Name: Sugar Tip Hibiscus syriacus

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade, and well-drained soil

Size: To 8 feet tall, 6 feet wide

Zones: 5-8

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Peony

Pink Peony Paeonia

Credit: David Speer

Few flowers are as opulent as a pink petal-filled peony. This carefree plant blooms in late spring and most varieties waft a delightful fragrance. You can dry the flowers for dried-flower crafts, too.

Name: Paeonia selections

Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil

Size: 4 feet tall and wide

Zones: 3-8

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'Angelique' Tulip

Pink 'Giles Van Hees' Veronica

Credit: Peter Krumhardt

Among the most beautiful of all tulips, 'Angelique' bears double flowers in a delightful shade of soft pink. It's also long-lived, able to bloom for several years in the right conditions. Plant 'Angelique' with white daffodils for a wonderful spring treat.

Name: Tulipa 'Angelique'

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 15 inches tall and 6 inches wide

Zones: 3-8

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Foxglove

Foxglove Digitalis varieties

Credit: Ed Gohlich

Foxgloves are majestic, low-care plants for the woodland garden. Most of the common varieties are biennials, meaning they grow foliage one year, bloom the next, then die. But happily, if you leave them to drop seed, new crops will spring up on their own every year.

Name: Digitalis selections

Growing Conditions: Part shade and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 6 feet tall and 2 feet wide

Zones: 4-8

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Dianthus

dianthus perennial pink flowers

Credit: Peter Krumhardt

You'll sometimes see "pinks" used as another common name for dianthus, so it's no surprise this is one of our top picks. Most dianthus are fragrant and many varieties, such as Firewitch, offer stunning silvery-blue foliage.

Name: Dianthus gratianopolitanus selections

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 6 inches tall and 18 inches wide.

Zones: 3-8

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Dahlia

dynamic shot of red and fuchsia dahlia blooms

Credit: Kindra Clineff

One of the finest summer-blooming bulbs around, dahlias produce elegant flowers that are perfect for cutting. Plant breeders have given us a wealth of choices—from blooms that appear in the softest of pink shades to eye-popping cerise. Their size ranges, too, from little 3-inch-wide gems to varieties that have flowers more than a foot wide.

Name: Dahlia selections

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: From 6 inches to 6 feet tall, depending on variety

Zones: Zones 8-10, but you can dig and store the tubers over winter.

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Bleeding Heart

bleeding heart shade garden perennial

Credit: Peter Krumhardt

A gorgeous perennial for shady spots in your yard, bleeding heart offers lovely pink blooms that are heart-shaped in the bud. The blue-green foliage is a nice contrast to other plants.

Name: Dicentra spectabilis

Growing Conditions: Shade and moist, well-drained soil rich in organic matter

Size: To 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide

Zones: 3-9

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Phlox

pink-creeping-phlox-4459e876

Credit: Peter Krumhardt

What would the summer garden be without phlox? This perennial bears big heads of fragrant flowers in mid- to late summer, often when gardens need it the most.

Test Garden Tip: Grow phlox where it has plenty of air circulation to stop powdery mildew, a common disease of this flower.

Name: Phlox paniculata selections

Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil

Size: 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide

Zones: 4-8

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Petunia

pink petunia blooms

Credit: Justin Hancock

One of the most popular summer annuals, petunias appear in almost every color. Pink shades are perfect for cool color schemes, though—try mixing them with purple angelonia, white annual phlox, or burgundy-leaf sweet potato vine.

Name: Petunia selections

Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 4 feet tall and wide, depending on type

Zones: Annual

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Crabapple

Pink Crabapple Malus

Credit: Denny Schrock

One of the first trees to put on a show in spring, crabapples keep the display going thanks to their lovely red, purple, or yellow fruits that attract birds. And many crabapple selections offer good fall color, too.

Name: Malus selections

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: From 6 to 25 feet tall and wide, depending on variety

Zones: 3-8

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Purple Coneflower

pink Echinacea Razzmatazz coneflower

Credit: David Speer

Whoever named this plant purple coneflower was stretching it a bit—the lovely summertime blooms are definitely more on the pink (or mauve) side. Regardless, it's a wonderful choice for the garden as it offers a ton of flowers, attracts butterflies, and holds up well to heat and drought.

Name: Echinacea purpurea

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide

Zones: 3-9

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