By ELIZABETH WADDINGTON Elizabeth Waddington, MA, Dip.Perm.Des. - Garden Designer Elizabeth is a Permaculture Garden Designer, Sustainability Consultant and Professional Writer, working as an advocate for positive change. She graduated from the University of St. Andrews with an MA in English and Philosophy and obtained a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design from the Permaculture Association. Colin Skelly, MHort (RHS), MCIHort - Horticulturist Colin is a Horticulturist and Horticultural Consultant with experience in a range of practical and managerial roles across heritage, commercial and public horticulture. He holds the Royal Horticultural Society’s Master of Horticulture award and has a particular interest in horticultural ecology and naturalistic planting for habitat and climate resilience.
Reviewed By COLIN SKELLY 
IN THIS GUIDE
- 1) Angelica
- 2) Agastache
- 3) Bergamot / Bee Balm
- 4) Borage
- 5) Catnip
- 6) Chamomile
- 7) Chives
- 8) Comfrey
- 9) Dill
- 10) Dittany
- 11) Echinacea
- 12) Feverfew
- 13) Germander
- 14) Hyssop
- 15) Lavender
- 16) Marjoram
- 17) Mints
- 18) Oregano
- 19) Polemonium (Jacob’s Ladder)
- 20) Rosemary
- 21) Salad Burnet
- 22) Salvias
- 23) Thymes
- 24) Verbena
- 25. Yarrow
- References
A useful and productive herb garden can be beautiful as well as useful, when you choose some of these attractive flowering herbs.
These are just 25 flowering herbs that you can sow and grow for colourful gardens and useful culinary yields.
These flowering herbs not only look pretty, they are also very useful plants while in active growth and will attract plenty of pollinators and other beneficial insects to your garden.
1) Angelica
- BOTANICAL NAME: Angelica archangelica
- HARDINESS RATING: H6
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER
Angelica archangelica, naturalised in Britain, is an attractive biennial.
It grows up to 1.5m in height, forming large umbellifers of pale greenish or white flowers.
The plants can self-seed readily, and are great for wildlife-friendly gardens.
The leaves are edible raw or cooked, with a liquorice flavour.
Stalks and young stems are peeled and used like celery, or crystalised for cake toppings, while the roots and seeds are also sometimes used for flavouring.
“Angelica archangelica is not a plant for small gardens, especially if you have moist, fertile soil,” warns Colin Skelly, a Horticultural Consultant who specialises in garden planting.
“It will grow large and self-seed freely. In general, herbs will grow larger and looser (and with less flavour) in shadier, fertile, moister conditions than their (for many, but not all, culinary herbs) southern Mediterranean origins.”
2) Agastache
- BOTANICAL NAME: Agastache
- HARDINESS RATING: H3
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER / AUTUMN
A. foeniculum (anise hyssop), and A. rugosa (Korean mint), are two other great flowering herbs to consider.
These are also attractive ornamentals and great bee-friendly flowers, as well as providing edible yields for salads or teas.
Their leaves have an aniseed-like flavour, the former more delicate than the latter.
3) Bergamot / Bee Balm
- BOTANICAL NAME: Monarda didyma
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER
Monarda didyma, also known as bergamot, is well known as a herb for herbal teas.
As its other name suggests, it is also fantastic for pollinators in your garden and with its dramatic bright pink or red flowers, it is also a great ornamental addition.
It also goes by many other names, including Oswego tea, mountain mint and more.
4) Borage
- BOTANICAL NAME: Borago officinalis
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER
Borage is an excellent self-seeder and wonderful for growing in a herb garden, in a bed or border, or in amongst the fruits and vegetables in your kitchen garden.
It has beautiful blue flowers which impart a cucumber-like taste to drinks or salads.
It produces prodigious amounts of nectar for bees and other pollinators.
5) Catnip
- BOTANICAL NAME: Nepeta cataria
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER / AUTUMN
Catnip is, of course, intoxicating to felines, but it can also be a beautiful addition to your garden.
N. cataria can also be a useful herb, with edible mint-like leaves which give it another of its common names: catmint.1Fries, W. C. (2021, May 8). Truth About Catnip. WebMD. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://pets.webmd.com/cats/catnip-effects-on-cats
6) Chamomile
- BOTANICAL NAME: Chamaemelum nobile
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER
Chamomile is known for making a relaxing tea.2Srivastava, J. K., Shankar, E., & Gupta, S. (2010). Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with a bright future. Molecular Medicine Reports, 3(6), 895–901. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2010.377
But the daisy-like flowers can also look very pretty and bring some cherry colour to your garden.
7) Chives
- BOTANICAL NAME: Allium schoenoprasum
- HARDINESS RATING: H6
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER
Chives may look like blades of grass at first but when they flower they really enliven your garden.
Like other alliums, they bear globes of tiny flowers.
These little purple pompoms look lovely and also attract beneficial pollinators, while the smell of the plants may help to repel certain pest species.3Gao, Q., Song, L., Sun, J., Cao, H., Wang, L., Lin, H., & Tang, F. (2018). Repellent action and contact toxicity mechanisms of the essential oil extracted from Chinese chive against Plutella xylostella larvae. Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology, 100(1), e21509. https://doi.org/10.1002/arch.21509
8) Comfrey
- BOTANICAL NAME: Symphytum officinale
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SPRING / SUMMER
Comfrey is a well-known plant amongst organic gardeners.
It is often used to chop and drop in perennial planting schemes.
Other uses include mulch, adding to the compost heap, or making a liquid plant feed.4Comfrey. (n.d.-b). Garden Organic. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/expert-advice/garden-management/soil/comfrey
But leave it to flower and it is also a very pretty plant, with pinkish, purple or white flowers which pollinators love.
9) Dill
- BOTANICAL NAME: Anethum graveolens
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER
Dill is another common culinary herb that can bring colour to your garden when allowed to bloom.
It has broad umbels of tiny yellow flowers through the summer months.
Of course, dill is useful in the kitchen, with its mild aniseed flavour.
10) Dittany
- BOTANICAL NAME: Dictamnus albus
- HARDINESS RATING: H6
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER
Dittany, Dictamnus albus, is a less well-known flowering herb which is also known as the burning bush.
A lemon fragranced tea can be made from its dried leaves.
Flowers can be pinkish or white in hue and can be dried.
11) Echinacea
- BOTANICAL NAME: Echinacea purpurea
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER / AUTUMN
Echinacea is a well-known herb and also an attractive flowering plant often grown for its ornamental appeal.
The big, bold purple flowers can bring a splash of vibrant colour to your herb garden.
12) Feverfew
- BOTANICAL NAME: Tanacetum parthenium
- HARDINESS RATING: H6
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER
Feverfew is another daisy-like plant that can look very cheerful in a garden.
T. parthenium is used to make teas, and dried flowers are sometimes used for flavouring in pastries.5Tanacetum parthenium: Feverfew. (2006). Plants for a Future. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Tanacetum+parthenium
13) Germander
- BOTANICAL NAME: Veronica chamaedrys
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SPRING / SUMMER
Germanders can look very pretty in your garden.
They can have a range of colourful blue, lavender or pinkish flowers.
14) Hyssop
- BOTANICAL NAME: Hyssopus officinalis
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER / AUTUMN
Hyssopus officinalis is another herb that is extremely useful both for us and for wildlife.
It is also a very attractive plant, with spires of purple or blue flowers.
The flavour of the pot herb is something akin to a cross between mint and sage.
It also has a range of other uses in the garden and inside your home.
15) Lavender
- BOTANICAL NAME: Lavandula angustifolia
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER
Lavender is perhaps one of the best known and best-loved flowering herbs, and with good reason.
It produces an abundance of fragrant purple flowers in summer, which many insects, and people, can enjoy.
It has a range of uses in the garden and in the home.
16) Marjoram
- BOTANICAL NAME: Origanum majorana
- HARDINESS RATING: H3
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER
Sweet Marjoram, botanically known as Origanum majorum, and hardy marjoram, O. x majoricum, are other culinary herbs which are also attractive and colourful when in flower.
Not to be confused with pot marjoram, or oregano, which is also included on this list.
17) Mints
- BOTANICAL NAME: Mentha
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER
There are a huge range of mints that you could grow in your garden – not just for their flavour (and pest repelling properties as a companion plant) but also for their pretty flowers.
While this can be beneficial in places, just be warned that mint plants have a tendency to spread prolifically and take over if you give them the chance.
18) Oregano
- BOTANICAL NAME: Origanum vulgare
- HARDINESS RATING: H6
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER / AUTUMN
Oregano, Origanum vulgare, is also known as pot marjoram, which leads to some confusion over these herbs.
But like the marjorams listed above, this common culinary herb also has pretty flowers that make for colourful gardens.
19) Polemonium (Jacob’s Ladder)
- BOTANICAL NAME: Polemonium caeruleum
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER
Polemonium, commonly known as Jacob’s ladder, is most commonly grown as an ornamental plant which has pretty purple/blue flowers.
20) Rosemary
- BOTANICAL NAME: Salvia rosmarinus
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SPRING / SUMMER
Rosemary may not always bloom successfully if not given optimal growing conditions, but when it does, the flowers are stunning.
These blue/purple blooms stand out against the dark green needle-like foliage and look lovely in a herb garden.
21) Salad Burnet
- BOTANICAL NAME: Sanguisorba minor
- HARDINESS RATING: H6
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER / AUTUMN
The young leaves and shoots of Sanguisorba minor are best harvested for culinary use before the plants come into flower.
But leaving the plants to flower brings benefits for wildlife, and can also add a bit more colour to your herb garden with their bright pink pigment.
Great burnet can have even more impact, and can also be used for culinary purposes.
22) Salvias
- BOTANICAL NAME: Salvia
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER
From common garden sage to Salvia elegans (pineapple sage), there are a wide range of Salvias that are also useful herbs and attractive ornamental plants, which bring blooms and splashes of vibrant colour to your garden.
23) Thymes
- BOTANICAL NAME: Thymus vulgaris
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER
Many different thymes can also be very attractive, as well as very useful flowering herbs.
Their white or purple flowers can look wonderful alongside many of the other flowers mentioned on this list.
And of course, like so many others on this list, thyme is great for people and for the pollinators and other wildlife in your garden.
24) Verbena
- BOTANICAL NAME: Verbena bonariensis
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER / AUTUMN
Verbena, or vervain, is another herb with attractive flowers.
The leaves can be used for tea, and the flowers themselves are sometimes used as a garnish.
25. Yarrow
- BOTANICAL NAME: Achillea millefolium
- HARDINESS RATING: H7
- FLOWERING MONTHS: SUMMER
Yarrow is another herb with very pretty flowers, in white or pinkish hues which are in flower from June through to August and sometimes even beyond.
There are plenty of attractive flowering herbs to grow for colourful gardens and the above is just a small number of the many plants you could grow.
But the above list should give you some ideas, and a place to start when planning and planting your colourful herb garden.
- 1
Fries, W. C. (2021, May 8). Truth About Catnip. WebMD. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://pets.webmd.com/cats/catnip-effects-on-cats
- 2
Srivastava, J. K., Shankar, E., & Gupta, S. (2010). Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with a bright future. Molecular Medicine Reports, 3(6), 895–901. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2010.377
- 3
Gao, Q., Song, L., Sun, J., Cao, H., Wang, L., Lin, H., & Tang, F. (2018). Repellent action and contact toxicity mechanisms of the essential oil extracted from Chinese chive against Plutella xylostella larvae. Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology, 100(1), e21509. https://doi.org/10.1002/arch.21509
- 4
Comfrey. (n.d.-b). Garden Organic. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/expert-advice/garden-management/soil/comfrey
- 5
Tanacetum parthenium: Feverfew. (2006). Plants for a Future. Retrieved March 15, 2023, from https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Tanacetum+parthenium
