19 Favorite Bulb Flowers for Year-Round Color

It's easy to grow flowers with bulbs. Year-round color explodes from easy-to-grow bulbs like tulips, calla lilies, Siberian iris and other annual or perennial bulbs. For best results, choose bulbs recommended for your hardiness zone and stagger their planting times so you have a continuous flower show.

These fragrant hyacinths, hardy in Zones 4 to 8, are great partners for spring daffodils, needing little more than full sun and well-drained soil mixed with plenty of organic matter. You can even grow some spring bulbs indoors.

Easy to overlook, these miniature iris appear in early spring, often when crocus are in flower. The plants are small (6 inches tall at most) but boast big color. Landscape use: Tuck along the edge of planting beds or paths. Plant in groups to help increase visibility. Hardy in Zones 5 to 7.

This spring favorite opens its cheery blooms as early as February in Zone 7. Look for flowers from March to mid-spring as you head north. Landscape use: Plant in clumps of six for impact. Use in woodland areas, along border edges or in front of evergreen shrubs. Hardy in Zones 4 to 8.

Classic spring bulbs like tulip and daffodil offer a variety of flower types that open at different points in spring. Plant a mix of bulbs to stage a show that lasts all spring. Landscape use: Create a river of living color by planting tulips and daffodils en masse. Hardiness varies by type, from Zones 3 to 8 for tulips and Zones 4 to 8 for daffodils.

Flower petals recurve beautifully on this lily, appearing in late spring to early summer, depending on the latitude (later further north). Stems top out around 4 feet and can bear upwards of a dozen flowers each in shades of pink, gold or white. Landscape use: Include in a perennial border or butterfly garden. Hardy in Zones 3 to 8.

Eye-catching pink blooms boast white-edged petals and an alluring fragrance. This Oriental lily flowers in mid- to late summer. Flowers unfurl atop stems 3 to 4 feet tall. Landscape use: Tuck into perennial borders or cutting gardens. Hardy in Zones 4 to 9.

Waxy blossoms unfurl like a ray of living sunshine. Leaves are green with white speckles. Plants top out at 12 to 24 inches and flower in spring in warmer zones and summer in colder regions. Landscape use: Grow in containers where bulbs aren’t hardy, or tuck bulbs along edges of flower borders. Hardy in Zones 9 to 11.

Individual flowers on these bloomers typically measure from 8 to 10 inches across. Blossoms start opening in midsummer and continue until frost. Plants top out at 8 to 12 inches and definitely benefit from staking. Landscape use: Include in cutting or cottage gardens. In zones where tubers aren’t hardy, plant where it’s easy to dig tubers in fall. Hardy in Zones 8 to 11.

Striking white-edged crimson flowers have recurved petals that peel back from the dangling blooms. This is one of the latest flowering lilies, with blossoms appearing from late summer into fall. Expect 10 to 15 flowers per bulb. Stems grow 5 to 7 feet tall but don’t normally need staking. Landscape use: Include in a perennial or butterfly garden. Hardy in Zones 5 to 8.

Autumn crocus sends up a tuft of strappy, 10-inch-long leaves in spring, which fade as summer heat arrives. Pink flowers grace the garden in fall. Bulbs need sharp drainage. Landscape use: Tuck into woodland or meadow gardens, or use in areas where fading summer plantings can use a pick-me-up. Hardy in Zones 4 to 8.

Tiny in stature but big on beauty, winter aconite opens it golden blossoms as early as February in areas with mild winters. Expect blooms to linger up to 4 weeks. Plants grow 3 to 5 inches tall. Landscape use: Place in planting beds along entry paths so you don’t miss the show. Hardy in Zones 4 to 7.