12 Golden Annuals, Perennials, and Shrubs
Deep golden yellow flowers are a great addition to your garden.
Annuals
Deep golden yellow flowers are a great addition to your garden. I love sunshine and lemon yellow, but there’s something special about the rich golden-yellow hue that adds a touch of gravitas to your garden. Rather than evoking a party, golden yellow is a little less flashy with a touch of orange to deepen the hue. It’s a great color for any season but seems perfectly suited to late summer and fall as the weather starts to cool and the leaves begin to turn colors. These ten plants all feature golden yellow tones.
 | Golden Butterfly® Argyranthemum Rich, golden yellow petals frame the even deeper gold color of the flower centers on this annual. These prototypical daisy flowers add height, without being too aggressive. They perform best when nights are cool, but will generally bloom from spring into fall. If you find them struggling a bit in the dog days of summer, a good trim can invigorate them for the coming fall weather and you can expect nights to give new vigor to the plants too. They will usually bloom late into fall until a hard frost signals that winter is on the way, and are great landscape plants and wonderful thrillers in container recipes. 18-36” Tall. 12-20” Wide. Part Sun to Sun. Annual. |
 | The soft ferny foliage and golden yellow daisy flowers are a lovely combination. Expect a semi-trailing habit that mounds and then cascades over the edge of containers. This plant is very heat tolerant and will bloom all season, right up to a hard frost in autumn. The daisy flowers have a deep golden orange center and will work well in the front of the border or in combination recipes. 14-20” Tall. 10-20” Wide. Sun. Annual. |
 | This plant features clusters of petite deep golden-yellow flowers that grace dark green foliage. Lantana is one of the most dependable types of plants for a garden—they are easy to care for, heat and drought tolerant and are generally self-sufficient. For most of us, Lantana is grown as an annual, but those living in zone 9 through 11 will have a tough, hardy perennial for years to come. Butterflies adore the plants, and hummingbirds will come calling as well. 20-30” Tall. 20-30” Wide. Sun. Annual, except in zone 9-11. |
Shrubs
 | It's easy to understand the charm of forsythia. It’s one of the first plants to bloom in spring, has cheerful yellow flowers, and is super easy to grow. If you're looking to add one of these springtime classics to your garden or landscape, consider one that is out of the ordinary, like Flying Machine. Its golden-orange flowers are positively enormous, making for a striking display on the plant. As the flowers age, they spiral to the ground whole, creating a glowing carpet beneath the plant for an extended display you'll look forward to every year. Flying Machine forsythia also shares the outstanding deer resistance and shade tolerance that makes forsythia so versatile and useful. 5’-8’ Tall. 4’-6’ Wide. Part Sun to Sun. Shrub. Hardy in zones 6-8. |
 | This smokebush has bold, bright and beautiful foliage making it a beaming beacon for the landscape. The round, waxy leaves emerge a sunny orange, soon take on a golden hue, then mature to cheerful chartreuse for the season. In early summer, cloud-like green flower clusters cover the plant and these turn into the pink "smoke" plumes that earn the plant its name. It naturally grows with a dense, oval shape that's ideal for adding a spot of bright color to partially shaded or sunny areas. 4’-6’ Tall. 4’-6’ Wide. Part Sun to Sun. Shrub. Hardy in zones 5-8 |
 | This is one of our hardiest plants and exceptionally cold-tolerant dwarf birch. New growth appears in sunset hues of yellow, red, and orange, and cheerful chartreuse foliage carries the plant through the entire season. Allow it to grow naturally, where its attractive, fan-like habit can be enjoyed, or prune it into a shape, like a low hedge. It is deer resistant and carefree once it is established. Cesky Gold is closely related to birch trees, but it is a slow-growing dwarf plant that will work in small spaces. It can be left to grow naturally, but it can also be trimmed and shaped if you want a more formal look. 2’-4’ Tall. 1.5’-3’ Wide. Part Sun to Sun. Shrub. Hardy in zones 2-7. |
 | A living fence of arborvitae is always nice, but some varieties take up a lot of your (and your neighbor's) yard space. Polar Gold® arborvitae naturally grows with a narrow, space-saving habit, so you can achieve the same effect in a small area. New growth emerges a cheerful glowing gold color, which persists year-round. Though arborvitae is not deer resistant, it's an outstanding native evergreen for those struggling with shaded conditions. Very hardy, too! 12’-15’ Tall. 4’-6’ Wide. Part Sun to Sun. Shrub. Hardy in zones 3-7. |
Perennials
 | Color Coded® ‘Yellow My Darling’ Echinacea ‘Yellow My Darling’ was selected for its excellent basal branching, flower performance, large flower size, and horizontally held petals. Enjoy this pollinator-attracting variety as a late summer flower interest for your garden. Its rich golden yellow flowers contrast beautifully with its dark green leaves and flowers age to an attractive creamy yellow. Praised for their cheerful brightly colored flowers, coneflowers are a mainstay in today's garden. Be sure to leave some spent blooms on the plants in the fall since their seeds provide winter food for finches and other birds. The dried seed heads also provide architectural interest in the winter. 18”-24” Tall. 16”-20” Wide. Part Sun to Sun. Perennial. Hardy in zones 4-8. |
 | Shadowland® ‘Coast to Coast’ Hosta ‘Coast to Coast’ is a giant, solid gold hosta that makes a striking specimen in the shade garden. Its foliage emerges gold in spring and turns lighter gold with a bit more sun exposure in the summer months. As the leaves mature, they become thick and puckered with wavy edges and have nearly white undersides. The upright vase-shaped clump is topped with green scapes carrying pale violet flowers in midsummer. This hosta tends to be more slug resistant because of its thick substance foliage and rigidly upright habit. It can be grown as a single specimen in a large container in a prominent place in the landscape. 3’ Tall. 3’ Wide. Part Shade to Shade. Perennial. Hardy in zones 3-9. |
 | Pyromania® ‘Solar Flare’ Kniphofia The spiky flowers and upright habit of ‘Solar Flare’ lends unique drama to your landscape, with rebloom extending the color late into the season. Grass-like foliage provides textural contrast to bold-leaved perennials, like Hibiscus. These tropical-looking plants are hardy to either zone 5b or 6 if you provide protection and are commonly called Red Hot Poker or Torch Lily for their tall flower spikes. These South African natives offer tremendous garden value by combining grass-like foliage with tall flowers. It is an excellent perennial for the middle of the border. 3’-4’ Tall. 2’-3’ Wide. Sun. Perennial. Hardy in Zones 5-9. |
 | Rock ‘N Low™ ‘Yellow Brick Road’ Sedum Looking for a beautiful groundcover? If so, then 'Yellow Brick Road' is your answer! This perennial will cover its dark green leaves and red stems with fine-textured yellow flowers mid to late summer. This variety blooms a few weeks later than the standard summer flowering Stonecrop, bridging the gap between summer and fall flowering groundcover Sedum. Low, spreading sedums form a solid mat of foliage which is excellent for covering slopes or can be planted as a groundcover in sunny, dry areas. They are extremely drought tolerant and are terrific low-maintenance plants that always look their best. |
Learn More
- Explore Yellow Plants on Pinterest.
- Consider these 10 Ways to Boost your Home’s Curb Appeal with Flowers.
- Learn More about Using Color in the Garden.
