Choosing the right plants for your garden is hard enough, and made even harder when you’re looking for a plant of a particular height that will suit a particular space. Tall perennials especially are most often favourites among gardeners with cottage gardens, growing along the edges of rustic sheds or verdant-filled greenhouses, due to their whimsical nature and often-unique blooms. We’ve made it just a little easier to select which stunning vertically-gifted plant to choose from with a top 10 list of tall flowers for the garden.

10 Tall Flowers for the Garden

1. Delphinium

Delphiniums are stunning tall early-summer flowering plants which can grow up to 2m in height, making them the perfect addition to your garden border when it’s lacking dimension. A staple for cottage gardens, delphiniums come in stunning blues to dusty pinks which are sure to awe visitors and neighbours alike. 

 2. Buddleia

Buddleia’s/buddleja’s make for beautiful bushes which attract pollinators due to their nectar-filled blooms, butterflies especially are very fond of these bushes. They can grow anywhere from 2.5-3m in height, but are also relatively wide so it’s important to ensure there’s enough space for them to grow, preferably in full-sun.

3. Penstemon

These perennials can grow up to approximately 70 cm in height with some getting even taller and others coming in under 60 cm depending on variety. Easy to grow and maintain with tube-like flowers which appear from summer to autumn. Penstemons prefer either full-sun or partial shade in order to thrive.

4. Hollyhock

Hollyhock can reach over 2m in height and are often seen gracing cottage gardens with their abundant blooms and dusty pinks to deep reds. Flowering from summer to autumn, hollyhock plants enjoy sunny spots with well-drained soil and are fantastic for attracting pollinators of all kinds, making them incredibly wildlife friendly.

5. Canna

Canna lilies can reach up to 2.5m in height, adding the vertical allure your garden needs with their stunning iris-like blooms that come in a variety of tropical colours – thriving in the summer heat especially. Canna plants are especially stunning when paired with ornamental grasses.

6. Lupins

Reaching almost a metre in length, lupins are a very cottage-like perennial which bloom tall cones of colourful flowers sprouting upwards from May to July. These sun-loving plants are happy in full-sun or partial shade spots in your garden with well-drained soil. Keep in mind that lupins are toxic to both humans and animals so may not be the most ideal plant if you have young children or pets.

7. Foxgloves

Another plant that can grow up to 2m in height, foxgloves (otherwise known as digitalis) are another garden border staple and are loved by gardeners and pollinators alike with their vibrant and pollen-filled blooms. Digitalis bloom from spring to summer and if you’re lucky you can sometimes find a bumblebee resting inside one of the many bell-shaped flowers.

8. Alliums

Some alliums can reach up to a metre in height, often coming in hues of purple, these blooms have an interesting appearance characterised by the ball-shaped mass of small flowers at the end of a tall stem. Alliums flower around May-June time and prefer moist, well-drained soil in a sunny spot in the garden.

9. Crocosmia

Crocosmia have stunning warm-hued blooms that are sure to light up any garden border; growing up to approximately 1.2m tall, crocosmia plants add both height and colour to your outdoor space. These perennials prefer full sun or part shade and bloom from early to late summertime.

10. Achillea

Flowering throughout summer, Achillea (also known as Yarrow) have small clusters of flowers atop long stems and usually grow to an average height of 1m. These blooms come in a huge variety of colours, making it easy to assimilate them into any colour scheme your garden has going on. 

We’ve got the plant for you

A significant number of the taller plants available on the market are perennials, however if these aren’t up your alley, there are plenty of other options to choose from. From bulbs, to bedding or perhaps roses or trees – finding the right option for your garden has never been easier.

If you want height in your garden but have no room in your border, try popping some perennials in planters as some of these will thrive just as well in a pot as they would in the ground with proper care.