The Ultimate Guide to Southern Gardens

Where it grows: Woodlands across the South, and especially near the Appalachian mountains.

How to identify: Look for a woody green shrub with flowers in pink, white, red, or purple. Azaleas can grow into giant sprawling bushes or gardeners can prune them into a hedge.

Fun fact:  Azaleas always bloom in the spring but Encore varieties bloom again in the summer and fall.

Where it grows: Native to Asia, botanists brought camellias to the coastal South in the 1700s.

How to identify: Leathery dark green evergreen leaves cover the shrubs year-round, but cool weather brings out the gorgeous symmetrical pink, red, or white blossoms.

Fun fact: When you see a plant covered in red blooms in December, you’ll understand why the camellia’s nickname is the “rose of winter.”

Where it grows: Humid, warm, sunny climates.

How to identify: Dark green leaves crown both the tree and bush types of crape myrtle, whose flowers are fluffy clusters of color that explode into a riot of color during the summer.

Fun fact: Even the bark of this tree is strikingly colorful.

Where it grows: Most regions of North America, and in many places across the world—they’re quite hardy.

How to identify: Daffodils poke up their green stems and leaves in the spring and feature a recognizably cheery flower with a bell-shaped cup framed by yellow petals.

Fun fact: The genus narcissus includes daffodils, jonquils, and paperwhites.

Where it grows: Moist, mild regions including the mountain South.

How to identify: Large flat or slightly cupped flowers come in all colors atop tall stems; the dinner plate varieties can span a foot.

Fun fact: Originally cultivated by the Aztecs, dahlias are perennial flowers that survive until frost. Gardeners often dig up their tubers between seasons and replant in spring.

Where it grows: Along much of the Eastern United States, from Canada down to the Gulf Coast.

How to identify: Smooth, oval leaves and white flowers cover stately trees with grayish bark.

Fun fact: The flowering dogwood is the state flower of North Carolina; Virginia listed the dogwood as its flower in 1918, and as the state tree in 1956.

Where it grows: Native to the tropics and subtropics, fragrant gardenias grow in the warm South and are worthy candidates for container gardening.

How to identify: Atop dark green leaves, the flowers feature heavy white petals that spiral into a white or yellow center.

Fun fact: Gardeners often float blooms gently in a bowl of water as a striking display.

Where it grows: Several hundred species are native to temperate, subtropical, and tropical areas.

How to identify: You’ve probably seen depictions of bright hibiscus flowers on tropical shirts and beach post cards, and the real thing is just as stunning—huge red, yellow, white, or orange blooms.

Fun fact: The scarlet rosemallow hibiscus is native to Florida and puts out striking, long red petals.

Where it grows: Where there’s morning sun and partial shade (they love mild weather across the country).

How to identify: The most popular varieties show off large, round clusters of flowers, often in purple hues. Some feature white flowers or long cone-shaped blooms.

Fun fact: The beautiful Oakleaf hydrangea is known for both its flowers and striking leaves.

Where it grows: Across a wide area of North America, especially in temperate zones, bogs, and riverbanks.

How to identify: Six “petals” (three true petals, called standards, stand upright and three sepals droop out and are called “falls”) form a sculptural flower.

Fun fact: Blue Louisiana irises are indigenous to the Gulf Coast and grow wild in swamps.

Where it grows: Many Southern varieties bloom best in marshy areas like near the edge of a pond. The crinum lily is known for growing in cemeteries and along rivers.

How to identify: Sturdy, trumpet-like flowers in a huge variety of colors grow atop tall stems with long leaves.

Fun fact: Some night-blooming lilies attract evening pollinators such as moths to their fragrant white flowers.

Where it grows: Natively in the southeast, from North Carolina to Florida and west to Texas.

How to identify: Stately trees bear huge shiny dark green leaves with a velvet brown underside; the elegant flowers bear thick white petals.

Fun fact: Magnolias can tower more than one hundred feet and they can live more than a century.

Where it grows: In gardens and parks across the world—see tons of varieties during the annual rose trials at Biltmore in Asheville.

How to identify: Roses can come atop long stems by the dozen, but they also grow as shrubs and climbers in the garden.

Fun fact: A rice farmer and a Frenchman in Charleston developed the light pink clustered roses called noisettes in the early 1800s.

Where it grows: Throughout the Southeast, and as an evergreen in very warm areas.

How to identify: You can’t miss the swaths of tiny white flowers covering fences and archways in the South.

Fun fact: Although it’s not a true jasmine, the plant lets off a beautiful perfume.

Where it grows: Naturalists encourage gardeners to plant the native variety, American wisteria, which has a native range across almost the entire eastern part of the country.

How to identify: Woody vines climb and droop huge bunches of flowers that show off a lilac hue.

Fun fact: A cultivar of Kentucky wisteria called ‘Blue Moon’ sprouts grey-blue clusters.