Daffodils
By Lori Rose
Growing flowers is not only fun and rewarding for us, but it also keeps our pollinator and bird friends fed and happy. Yellow flowers in particular are quite attractive, and light up the landscape. Here are some new and not so new yellow varieties to try.
Tickseed (Coreopsis grandiflora) has narrow, needle-like leaves that give the plant a lacy appearance, and the yellow blooms brighten up any sunny garden from summer to mid-fall. The name “tickseed” comes from the insect-shaped seeds that will attract birds like goldfinches. After the first flush of flowers fades, use a hedge trimmer to cut all the flowers off at once. You may lose a few fresh blooms, but the plant will rebloom in about two weeks. Tickseed is easy to grow in a sunny, well-drained spot. It does not like to remain wet. It is a short-lived perennial, so let some go to seed or divide every two years to ensure it comes back. Mark its spot in late fall, as it is slow to sprout in spring. The pale-yellow flowers of ‘Moonbeam’ or ‘Early Sunrise’ compliment just about everything else in the garden.
Giants for the back of the garden, shorties for the front, or anything in between, there’s a sunflower for any place in your garden or container, and there’s a choice of yellows too, from deep gold to light butter. Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) grow best when seeds are sown outside after last frost about a quarter inch deep. Although they will eventually recover, they do not like being transplanted. Sunflowers prefer a sunny spot and require little maintenance. Stake tall ones, deadhead multi-stemmed types. Grow several heights together to screen off an unsightly view. If you want to save seeds to eat, cover the seedheads with cheesecloth, or leave the stalks up for the winter as a freestanding birdfeeder and watch the goldfinches flock. The birds will drop enough seeds to ensure replacement plants for next spring.
Black-eyed Susan, whether the annual Rudbeckia hirta (also called gloriosa daisy) or the perennial Rudbeckia fulgida, is a pretty plant that is covered with golden yellow daisy shaped flowers with a dark brown center. They are long-lasting as cut flowers, attract butterflies from summer into fall, and the seeds attract birds, especially the lovely little goldfinch. Black-eyed Susans grow natively in dry meadows in full sun. Cut off spent flowers to encourage continuous bloom and divide the perennial types every few years. They are great companions with Russian sage, sedum autumn joy and ornamental grasses for an autumn tableau. The annual gloriosa daisy also comes with a red ring around the black eye, with yellow at the tips of petals. If grown from seed, some of the flowers will be all yellow and some will have the red ring.
Marigolds have been popular over many generations because they are so easy to grow, and especially because they are covered with cheerful flowers all season long. Flowers come in yellow, orange, rust, red, and bi-color, and in sizes from half an inch to three inches in diameter. Both types of marigolds, Tagetes erecta (African/Mexican) and Tagetes patula (French), are equally at home anywhere a bright splash of color is needed, whether in a container, window box, border, rock garden, or even the vegetable garden where the brightest lemon-yellow flowers will offset the red tomatoes and green basil. Marigolds are also great for attracting slugs away from other plants like Hosta. Simply plant them nearby, and the slugs will eat the marigolds instead. The slug damage won’t be nearly as noticeable on the marigold leaves as it is on the Hosta leaves.
Show off your daffodil collection with forsythia (Forsythia suspensa), a beloved harbinger of spring. Forsythia was named in honor of William Forsyth (1737-1804), a Scottish horticulturalist who brought the shrub from China. A spectacular display of bright yellow flowers open on bare branches in April. It is very adaptable and will grow in sun or light shade to ten feet high and wide. If left untrimmed it forms a broad, arched mass of branches, or a perfect yellow meatball if clipped. A hedge of forsythia may be virtually unnoticeable most of the year, but when they are in flower you know it won't be long before warm weather comes. Bring some budding branches inside in March and put the stems in a vase of water. The flowers will open in a few days and give you an even earlier taste of spring.
Here are some new award-winning yellow flowers that we traditionally find in shades of pink:
Petunia hybrida ‘Bee’s Knees’ was an AAS Ornamental Winner for 2022. This yellow petunia was so outstanding and eye-catching in the trials that it is the first petunia to win a gold medal distinction since 1950. Each plant is covered with a colorful show of deep yellow, non-fading flowers all season long. The intense yellow petunia color contrasts beautifully against the deep green leaves. ‘Bee’s Knees’ loves full sun, well-drained soil and slow-release fertilizer to keep it flowering non-stop from summer to frost. The plant mounds and trails to ten inches high and is great in mixed containers, in a hanging basket, or as a lovely groundcover. The judges raved and stated “Yellow color didn’t fade. Plants were a solid mound of yellow blooms all season. No disease, no deer problem, no breakage from the wind. Great plant!”
Zinnia elegans ‘Queeny Lemon Peach’, another AAS Ornamental Winner for 2022, is an easy-to-grow annual with vigorous, healthy plants covered with lemon yellow flowers with dark peach centers. They are a perfect height to use as cut or dried flowers. As the blooms age, they fade to shades that start as a bright lemon yellow and finish off as a light coral color. ‘Queeny Lemon Peach’ plants grow to two feet tall and continue to bloom from summer to frost without deadheading. They enjoy a sunny spot in the garden, and they enjoy the summer heat. The judges say, “The lemony-peach blooms with the red-eye were striking. Plants were vigorous and healthy, producing blooms over a long season. This zinnia is a winner. Big healthy plant continued to bloom without deadheading. Unique color. Performed well in the heat.”
Commonly known as coneflower, Echinacea hybrida ‘Artisan Yellow Ombre’ is a 2023 AAS Perennial Winner. ‘Artisan Yellow Ombre’ is low maintenance, with no deadheading or staking required, and it provides vivid golden yellow flowers all season long. It is just as lovely as a cut flower in the vase. AAS Judges were impressed with the uniform growth habit, vibrantly colored flowers, and multi-branched plants that bloom prolifically. Echinacea flowers are magnets for pollinators, and the seedheads are magnets for birds. They do best in full sun with well-drained soil. The bushy plants grow two to three feet high and bloom from summer to frost. The judges were enthusiastic, saying, “A very nice yellow Echinacea. Consistently better than comparisons Due to the saturated color of the entry, it deserves an award. Flower color lasted all season.”
Try some of these beautiful, easy to grow plants and enjoy all the different flower shapes and sizes in every shade of yellow from early spring till hard frost.
Lori Rose, the Midnight Gardener, is a Temple University Certified Master Home Gardener and member of GardenComm: Garden Communicators International. She has gardened since childhood, and has been writing about gardening for over twenty years.