A Guide to Plants That Are Fun to Grow Outdoors

Bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis) flowers lined up on their stem.

Bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis) is most heart-shaped before fully opening.  Topic Images/Getty Images

Sit Back and Watch as These Plants Put on a Show

Lists of plants that are fun to grow outdoors are easy to find on the internet. But many of these lists focus on weird plants that hail from the tropics. These strange and amazing specimens are fine, but those of us who garden in cold climates must either grow them exclusively as houseplants or worry about bringing them indoors when summer ends.

Happily, there are plenty of cold-hardy plants that are fun to grow outdoors, and those are the ones focused on here. You will especially appreciate these choices if you are the type of gardener who habitually observes your plants “up-close and personal.” Indeed, to derive maximum satisfaction from these fascinating plants, you have to be at your most observant during their peak seasons. They have been chosen because their flower or foliage changes in a dramatic fashion, but you will miss out on the drama if you fail to show up in time for the performance.

Crown Imperial: Majestic Bulb Plant

Fritillaria (image) isn't common. But this spring-flowering bulb is spectacular.

Not as common as some of the other spring-flowering bulbs, Fritillaria is, nonetheless, spectacular. David Beaulieu

Some gardeners say they object to the smell of crown imperial (Fritillaria imperialis). But this objection is puzzling. Many gardeners are more than willing to hold their noses as they lap up the dazzling colour of this entertaining spring bulb plant.

Sow the bulbs in fall, then get ready to behold the show in spring. This tall plant is great fun to watch as the flower buds start to open. The flowers are big, so there is lots of drama.

Northern Pitcher Plant

Purple pitcher plant image.

Purple pitcher plants are known for their deep red flowers and vein-marked pitchers. David Beaulieu

Northern or “purple” pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea subsp. purpurea) is a fascinating specimen to grow in a mini-pond. It’s one of the best plants to grow in small water gardens because it packs a ton of fun into a small frame. Despite its name (which alludes to the pitcher-shaped leaf structures it produces), it is for its flowers that it is included in the present list.

Alliums (AKA “Flowering Onions”)

My image shows Allium 'Ambassador,

Allium ‘Ambassador’ is tall and bears a huge flower. David Beaulieu

Alliums are better-known than some of the other entries on this list. Their secret is out: the alliums with big flower heads are fun plants to grow. Ambassador is an example. Another is Allium schubertii, which looks ever so much like fireworks shooting off. Even the dried seedheads of these bulb plants are cool.

Snake Lily, Voodoo Lily

Image of spathe and spadix of snake lily.

Snake lily is a tropical plant with a spathe and spadix like that of jack-in-the-pulpit (but bigger). David Beaulieu

Snake lily (Amorphophallus konjac) is the one plant native to the tropics that made the ten list. It was just too much fun to grow to pass up. In fact, it puts on not one, but two can’t-miss shows annually:

    • The dramatic development of its spathe and spadix (photo) during its blooming period in spring (when, by the way, it is incredibly stinky).
    • And the equally weird and vigorous emergence of its foliage in summer.

And no, in case you’re wondering, that is not backwards: This weirdo flowers in spring, then dies back for a while, then shoots up a solitary, enormous leaf for the summer.

This is not the only species in the Amorphophallus genus. An even bigger member is the titan arum (A. titanum). A strange plant of a different genus but in the same family (namely, the arum family) is Dracunculus vulgaris, which shares not only the common name of “snake lily” with A. konjac but also various other names, including “voodoo lily.” All three represent the ultimate in fun if what you’re most interested in is unusual specimens.

Mayapple, or “American Mandrake”

Image of mayapple plant before its leaves unfurl.

I love watching Mayapple as its leaves start to unfurl. David Beaulieu

An unusual plant native to New England is Mayapple. It is not nearly as bizarre as snake lily, but apparently others have also noticed its odd qualities, because an alternate common name for it is “American mandrake.” That name echoes “European mandrake,” a peculiar plant whose freaky roots sometimes take on a human form.

Mayapple is primarily fun to grow not because of the “apple” it eventually produces, but on account of the show it puts on when it first pushes up through the ground in spring. Call its performance “The Opening of the Umbrellas.” This play is performed at breakneck speed, so do not be caught off-guard. It’s definitely a case of, “If you snooze, you lose.”

Bleeding Hearts, Flowers of Romance

Closeup image showing what bleeding heart's flower looks like.

If you crave whimsy in the landscape, bleeding heart may be the ultimate fun plant for you to grow. David Beaulieu

Bleeding hearts, especially the classic type (Dicentra spectabilis), are a fun plant to grow because of their unusually-shaped flowers. They are well-suited to gardeners who are admirers of the whimsical. Another selling point for them is that they bloom for a reasonably long time, so you do not have to worry about “missing the show” due to your absence from the garden for a few days (as with Mayapple).

Arctic Beauty Kiwi Vine

Male arctic kiwi vines (image) have three colors on their leaves. This pic is from spring.

Male arctic kiwi vines can have leaves with three colors. David Beaulieu

The only vine on the list, what makes Arctic Beauty kiwi special is the transformation of its foliage in spring from something ordinary to something so extraordinary that you will have neighbors stopping by to ask, “Is that colour real?”

Secret Lust Coneflower

Image of Echinacea 'Secret Lust,' a type of coneflower.

Echinacea ‘Secret Lust’ starts out mainly orange, then begins to change, becoming more and more pink. David Beaulieu

Secret Lust is a cultivar of Echinacea. It undergoes a colour transformation of its own, but here, unlike with kiwi vine, it is the flower colour that transforms, and the change takes place in summer. This perennial is a fun plant to grow not only to observe the colour change from orange to pink, but also to admire its wacky hairdo.

Italian Bugloss: Tall, Blue, and Handsome

Italian bugloss (picture) is striking, being tall. Here it is in bloom.

Picture of Italian bugloss in bloom. David Beaulieu

Italian bugloss (Anchusa azurea) is another perennial with an evolving flower colour. Pink and blue coloration can appear on the flowers at the same time. Other plants are bicolored in this way (for example, Pulmonaria and Virginia bluebells), but Italian bugloss puts on a better show because it is a taller plant (one of the tallest perennials).

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Photo: jack-in-the-pulpit lacks a nice floral display but has berries. These are red.

What jack-in-the-pulpit lacks in a floral display it makes up for with resplendent berries. David Beaulieu

Like snake lily, jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) is in the arum family and bears a spathe and spadix in spring. But this is a much smaller plant than its stinky arum relative. Moreover, it’s not tropical, being native to eastern North America. It also offers something that snake lily does not: bright red berries.

Doll’s Eyes

Doll's eyes (white baneberry).

David Beaulieu

Doll’s eyes (Actaea pachypoda) is also known as “white baneberry,” to distinguish it from red baneberry (Actaea rubra). The latter is also a nice native plant for shade gardens, but it lacks the novelty Actaea pachypoda has due its namesake “doll’s eyes,” which are white berries with black dots that look like pupils.

Honourable Mentions: Chinese Lanterns, Other Fun Plants to Grow Outdoors

Chinese lantern pod.

Chinese lantern plants bear a namesake pod that is quite striking. David Beaulieu

You can dry Chinese lantern plant pods and use them in crafts (for instance, insert them in fall wreaths for instant colour).

Here are some other honourable mentions. Included in the list are some

By David Beaulieu