Struggling to find new flowers to grow? One of the easiest ways is to search for captivating new flowers by the letter.
Here are some of the most beautiful flowers that begin with the letter B.
Baby’s Breath
A favorite accent plant of florists everywhere, Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila) has a delicate scent and tiny white or soft pink flowers.
There are both annual and perennial species, with different growth habits to choose from. Some make excellent ground cover, while others look perfect in containers.
The flowers tend to last for several weeks at a time, making this plant an attractive option for any garden.
Bachelor’s Button
This petite flower is named after how it was used to decorate the lapel of a bachelor.
The story goes that if the flower withered before the end of the day, the lady the man admired did not return his feelings.
This flower is also referred to as a cornflower, and comes in many colors, the most notable being a deep, vivid blue.
These tiny flowers do very well in pots or in the ground, as long as the soil drains well. It’s worth noting that they don’t have a huge tolerance to heat, so they’ll need a good soaking during hot, dry spells of weather.
It’s commonly grown as an annual in colder climates, and attracts many pollinators. If you do choose to plant cornflowers, or the bachelor’s button in your garden, you’ll soon notice lots of bees visiting!
Balloon Flower
Also known as the “Queen of Flowers,” the Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandiflorus) can be found growing wild throughout Asia.
The name comes from the flower bud’s resemblance to a balloon, opening out into a starry flower.
You’ll most often find them in a true blue, but you can also get varieties which produce pink or white flowers, if you prefer.
Bee Balm Flower
One of the most showy members of the mint family, Bee Balm or Monarda, is native to North America.
Its leaves have a distinctive smell when crushed, and the flowers are instantly recognizable, featuring purple, purple, or red spiky blooms.
Monarda is not only a great focal point in any garden, but it also helps to encourage more butterflies, bees, and other beneficial insects into your green space.
Begonia
Begonias are one of the most popular plants among gardeners, and they’re easy to care for.
They come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, so there’s sure to be something to suit every style, no matter how much room you have to play with in your garden.
You can grow some types of begonias as houseplants if you like.
Houseplant varieties are fussy about their growing conditions, and they will either love or hate the conditions you give them, signaling when they’re unhappy by consistently dropping all of their leaves.
Bellflower
The Bellflower (Campanula spp.) is best known for its bell-shaped flowers.
They come in a range of colors, including yellow, orange, red, white, and even blue.
You can get them in biennial, annual, and perennial forms. There’s a type to suit every garden, with dwarf species which typically get no higher than 5cm, perfect for pots or ground cover, and others which will grow to 6 feet tall.
Some bellflowers will start blooming in the last weeks of spring, all the way through until the first frosts descend in autumn (see also Growing Bellflowers).
Bergenia
These hardy plants are native to China, Japan, Korea, and Russia. Also known as elephant’s ears, rockfoil, or pigsqueak, (see also Saxifraga Plant Guide) this plant makes a great addition to any garden.
The leaves form a rosette, each one being deeply veined and with a leathery texture.
These plants, despite their appearance, are very tough, able to withstand temperatures anywhere from -35°F (-37°C) to 115°F (46°C).
They will flower with clusters of cone-shaped blooms, usually in pink, deep magenta, red, or white.
It’s worth knowing that these plants spread easily, so you will have to keep on top of them if you don’t want them carpeting a large area of your garden.
They prefer partial shade, well out of the reach of direct sunlight, and require constantly moist soil.
This makes them preferable for planting under larger plants, even trees, as long as the trees don’t soak up all the moisture and nutrients in the soil.
They also require a little maintenance, including deadheading spent flower heads.
Blanket Flower
This beautiful plant has been grown ornamentally all over the world, either as a tender perennial or an annual.
It’s a member of the daisy family, and you’ll also see it labeled as Gaillardia.
They are very easy to care for, and simple to raise from seed, making them a good choice for beginners.
Their uplifting colors in shades of warm orange, red, and yellow make them a favorite of gardeners across the world.
Blanket flowers (see also Gaillardia Grow Guide) will happily grow in dappled shade or full sunlight, but they need well-draining soil.
They are a perfect choice for rockeries or gardens which get a lot of dry spells.
Blazing Star
Also known as Indian Paintbrush, Blazing Star, or Liatris, this plant is a member of the sunflower plant family.
This plant is perfect for adding color in feathery, torch-like flower heads, made up of individual clustered flowers, offsetting well against the narrow foliage.
It attracts a lot of pollinators into your garden, and isn’t fussy about where you grow it.
Blazing stars will really come into their own during the last few weeks of summer until the first frosts.
They will spread with time, so you may need to transplant them into different areas of your garden, or plant them in containers to keep on top of their growth.
Bleeding Heart
The bleeding heart plant, or Lamprocapnos spectabilis, (see also Dicentra Plant Guide) produces fantastic heart-shaped blooms on long stems.
The number of flowers per stem means that they arch gracefully toward the floor, and soon after flowering, the plant dies back, ready for next year.
It’s an ornamental plant which is grown across the world for its lovely flowers, usually in pink and white, red and white, or wholly white.
If you gently turn a flower upside down, you’ll notice that it looks like a lady in a bathtub, hence its other common name, naked lady.
Bluebell
A sure sign of spring, the bluebell is a stunning plant, often found growing wild in woodland glades and along stream sites.
Its bright blue flowers make a statement in many gardens, whether that’s in the ground or in pots, and are frequently used as cut flowers.
You can also divide bluebells during fall, to help keep the growth vigorous, and to provide you with new plants for free.
It’s worth knowing that this plant is toxic to humans and animals, and can cause death if enough of the plant is eaten. It also doesn’t help that the bulbs look a little like garlic or spring onions.
Blue-Eyed Grass
Hailing from the Americas, blue-eyed grass flowers, or Sisyrinchium produces true blue flowers with vibrant yellow throats.
This plant is part of the iris plant family, and you can recognize this in its narrow, blade-like leaves which resemble grass, and vividly pigmented blooms.
Borage
A member of the forget-me-not plant family, borage (see also Borage Flower Symbolism) grows easily from seed, and produces large clusters of tiny, star-shaped flowers in vivid hues of blue, purple, and white.
Borage plants are annuals, which means you’ll need to sow them every year. These plants grow easily and quickly from seed, even if you plant them late in the season.
While it is marketed as an edible herb, it’s worth noting that the plant does contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, some of which can cause serious harm if consumed in quantity.
Borage is a favorite of bees and other pollinators, and it’s also used in companion planting to help protect edible plants from pests.
It’s worth noting that the silvery hairs on the foliage of borage can cause contact irritation in those who have sensitive skin.
Bouvardia
Bouvardia comes from the coffee plant family, Rubiaceae.
These plants are native to the Americas, but have been introduced all over the world, including Europe, Australia, Africa, Asia, and South America as ornamental plants.
Their beautiful flowers are produced in bright colors including orange, yellow, and red, and are very easy to grow.
They’re best planted in gardens which stay warm all year round. Otherwise, you can grow bouvardia as a striking houseplant.
Bouvardia is also known as the hummingbird plant, as it is known to attract hummingbirds and other pollinators.
Buddleia
If you want rich pillars made up of hundreds of tiny, brightly-colored flowers, the butterfly bush, Buddleia, or Buddleja davidii (see also Buddleia Guide) is the plant for you.
They draw lots of butterflies into your garden, making for the perfect display of color and beauty during the summer months.
The flowers of these plants are available in many dramatic shades, including pink, red, violet, and white.
Recently, multicolored varieties have also been introduced, which is helpful if you find that you can’t choose between them!
Butterfly bushes are native to China, and Japan, but they have naturalized in many places.
In addition to being attractive to butterflies, these plants are also popular among gardeners because they are drought tolerant and require minimal care.
It’s worth knowing that some countries consider Buddlejia davidii as a weed which harms indigenous plants, some of which will not let you purchase it to begin with.
The good news is that sterile cultivars have been created, which means you get the beauty, color, and pollinators that you want, without the risk of harming the local ecosystem.
Bush Morning Glory
You can get morning glory in many forms, but one of the most striking is the bush or shrub morning glory.
Bush morning glories are beautiful plants which will provide you with a sea of color during the summer months, each bloom lasting about a day on average.
These plants aren’t fussy about the type of soil they grow in, as long as it is well-draining, as the one thing morning glory cannot stand is constantly boggy soil.
It’s worth mentioning that morning glory is classed as invasive in some parts, so you will need to be careful, both when choosing a variety, and making sure it doesn’t take over your garden.
It’s said that once you plant morning glory in the ground in your garden, you won’t be able to get rid of it, so bear this in mind.
All morning glory plants are poisonous, so they aren’t suitable choices for gardens with pets or children.
Buttercup
While you may think of buttercups as peppering lawns and fields with buttery-yellow blooms, buttercups are also valuable garden plants.
They are part of the Ranunculus plant genus, which includes much larger, papery flowers in warm shades such as yellow, orange, red, and copper, but they also come in many other colors.
Buttercups are ideal for ‘wilding’ your garden or creating a naturalized meadow.
This helps introduce a wide variety of insects into your garden, as well as providing food for pollinators.
Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii)
Baby blue eyes is an annual flower species from Western North America, and is often used as a ground cover (see also Nemophila Uses).
Its small, delicate flowers are white, usually ringed with baby blue or dark purple.
It’s typically grown as an ornamental which is easy to raise from seed, but people will also grow it for its drought-tolerance, where it will weather long dry spells with ease.
It’s a perfect choice for the climate-conscious gardener who doesn’t want to irrigate their garden more than they absolutely have to, and you’d be surprised at how much water you will save.
Bear’s Breeches (Acanthus mollis)
A lovely herbaceous perennial, this is also known as the bearsfoot, sea dock, or the oyster plant.
It hails from the Mediterranean, featuring tuberous roots, large, shiny foliage and upright flower spikes. The flowers look like stacks of oysters, and you might recognize the shape of the leaves, which often appear on Corinthian architecture.
There are some downsides to this plant, however. It’s very vulnerable to pests such as slugs and other invertebrates, and its ability to spread prolifically has meant that it is classed as invasive in some parts.
Bearded Penstemon (Penstemon barbatus)
Hailing from the Western parts of the US, this is a striking plant which bears bright red or pink tubular flowers, featuring a layer of yellow down on the lower petals.
Bearded penstemon are very drought resistant plants. Acting as a magnet for hummingbirds, and their easy-going nature, these plants have seen a big rise in popularity, with many new cultivars and colors made available.
Penstemon are part of the plantain plant family.
