Big Beautiful Plants and Flowers to Brighten Your Southern California Yard

Written by Kelsey W.

Walking into a garden full of big, beautiful flowers will brighten any day, but you don’t need to head to your nearest conservatory or public garden to enjoy large blooms. 

As long as you have a few feet of space, whether that’s in a pot on your porch or in a flower bed in your yard, you can choose some amazing plants that will welcome you with gorgeous flowers every time you return home or step outside your house.

Some of these blooms are even native to Southern California, which means they’re a healthy addition to the local environment, and they’re also likely to grow easily in many areas of the Southland.

Much of Southern California remains pretty green throughout the year due to the mild temperatures, but these flowers will definitely make things a little brighter each season.

California Tree Poppy or “Romneya coulteri”

The California tree poppy is native to Southern California and produces big, fluttery white flowers with orange centers. Although the plants are commonly used as ornamental flowers in yards, they can actually grow several feet tall when left alone, so they do require some maintenance to ensure they don’t overtake your yard.

One of the notable features of this plant is that it produces the largest flowers of any native California species. Its only real competition for giant bloom status is the hairy-fruited hibiscus, which is found in a few places in California. The flower was once nominated for status as the California state flower, but it lost to the now-famous California poppy.

English Roses

Not surprisingly, roses make an excellent addition for brightening your yard. Offering some of the biggest and thickest blooms of any plant, English roses offer the now-classic large bundle of petals. English rose cultivars are known for blooming year after year and providing giant flowers, which makes them eternally eye-catching.

Before his passing in 2018, famous “rosarian” David Austin created several dozen different roses through selective breeding, and you’ll find these roses referred to as English roses in most garden centers. You can find just about any color of rose you want, so English roses are an excellent option when you have specific colors you want to use, or when you want to match the color scheme and ambiance of your home.

San Diego Sunflowers or “Hulsea californica”

If you’re lucky enough to find some San Diego sunflowers at your local Southern California garden center, you should definitely consider taking some of these gorgeous plants home. They’re a shrub that grows natively in some of the mountain ranges that run north/south through Southern California, like the Laguna Mountains and San Jacinto Mountains.

Not only do these plants produce large and gorgeous yellow blooms, but they also commonly grow flowers almost all year long and are perennial plants, which means you can enjoy them all year long and for many years, once they’re established. For size planning, these shrubs grow to about 40 inches high.

Oleander or “Nerium oleander”

A big, beautiful oleander bush will have flowers on it almost all year long in Southern California, and that makes it a great choice for infusing your yard (or even a large pot) with color and vibrance. Many oleanders are white, but the pink variety is gorgeous, especially when viewed in front of their dark green foliage. Oleanders love the sun and tolerate the Southern California weather beautifully.

However, it’s essential to remember that oleander is toxic to humans and animals, so if you have curious kids or pets that like to munch on bushes, it’s important to be careful when planting this bush. Most animals will tend to avoid the bush, but it’s always a good idea to be aware that the plant is as big and beautiful as it is potentially dangerous.

Hibiscus or “Hibiscus rosa-sinensis”

If you live near the coast, you may want to choose a hibiscus plant as your go-to front yard showstopper since the blooms are absolutely huge, and the flowers will often last for months in the mild climate. While it’s not impossible to grow hibiscus flowers when you’re further away from the ocean, you’ll just need to be wary about planting this tropical flower if you’re in an area that freezes or comes close to it.

If you live in an area where it gets chilly, you can consider growing your hibiscus in a pot and moving it inside whenever the weather gets too cold for it. You might be limited in its size, but you’ll still get to enjoy those beautiful blooms. You’ll also want to make sure that it gets some shade if the temperatures get above 95 degrees, as they like the sun but not when the temperature is too close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

King Protea or “Protea cynaroides”

The King Protea is a plant that originated in South Africa, but it just happens to thrive in the Mediterranean climate of Southern California. These plants produce one of the most unique-looking blooms out there, and they can grow anywhere from five inches to a whopping 12 inches in diameter. That’s an entire foot wide!

You’ll need to find a sunny spot in your yard to grow your King Protea, as they like full sun and hate soil that’s soggy. They’re susceptible to fungal invaders if they’re left in soil that doesn’t drain well. They’re also reasonably drought-tolerant, but they do best with a good, deep watering whenever their soil becomes dry. These plants don’t need a lot of care as long as they get a good drink of water every so often.

Lantana Perennials

There are many species of lantanas out there, and they’re a super common plant at Southern California garden centers because of how easy they are to grow in the SoCal climate. While they don’t technically have large blooms, it’s the number of blooms on each plant that makes them so notable and a wonderfully colorful addition to your yard.

One of the best parts about lantana is that they don’t need a ton of care, so it’s easy to reap the rewards of their bountiful floral displays without having to put in the time and effort as you might with English roses (or any roses, really). They love lots of sun and don’t need particularly dense soil. You can water them fairly infrequently, especially when they’re established, but do give them a healthy drink each time.

Showy Penstemon or “Penstemon spectabilis”

Showy penstemon is a native of Southern California, so it’s a great choice for your colorful SoCal garden. Like other California natives, the plant loves the sun, isn’t bothered by the heat, and tolerates drought conditions. In fact, you almost never need to water this flower; however, if you want to encourage it to produce more of its showy purple blooms, watering it a little more frequently will get those blooms going.

The key to successfully growing Showy Penstemons is putting them on a slope, if you can, because that ensures they don’t need to deal with any standing water or soggy soil. However, if you don’t have any hilly areas on your property, flat ground will do just fine, as long as the soil drains well. When your Showy Penstemon blooms, it will attract hummingbirds and bees.

Easter Lily Cactus or “Echinopsis oxygona”

We couldn’t complete a list of Southern California blooms without including at least one cactus. The Easter Lily Cactus is an excellent contender (even though there are quite a few cacti with big blooms) as it produces large white flowers that have a lovely smell. The Easter Lily Cactus is perfect when you don’t actually have a yard for your plants and need to go with a container garden instead.

The only drawback to the flowers is that they don’t last particularly long, so it’s always a good idea to pay attention to your cactus so you don’t miss its blooms. Like all cactuses, they like well-draining soil, but you can actually put this cactus inside in a bright window, and it’ll love living inside your home. A balcony would also suit the Easter Lily Cactus well.

Choose Your Next Big Beautiful Flowers at Green Thumb Nursery

Is it time to bring some life and color to your yard? Would you like to add some big flowers to your balcony? Interested in dressing up your porch with large blooms? Visit one of Green Thumb Nursery’s Southern California locations for information and advice on all the ways you can make your garden beautiful this year.

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