There are so many wonderful ways to incorporate zinnias into your garden. Whether you use them as vegetable companions or to spruce up your landscape, these easy-to-grow flowers won’t disappoint.
If you need inspiration for growing zinnias, look no further. I’ve listed the top eight zinnia garden ideas for your backyard. Keep reading for more!
Zinnia Garden Ideas for Vegetable Gardens
1. Beneficial Companion Planting
Did you know that planting flowers in your vegetable garden is beneficial in many ways? Zinnias attract pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, which will help get your vegetables pollinated effectively.
Zinnias help suppress weeds around vegetables. They also prevent pests from invading your garden by attracting beneficial insects.
So, what is the best way to plant zinnias in a vegetable garden?
Instead of planting all of your flowers in one spot, alternate rows of vegetables and flowers. You could also plant zinnias in the four corners of your garden.
Just make sure the zinnia plants won’t block the sun for low-growing vegetables.
Zinnia Garden Ideas for Small Spaces
2. Raised Cut Flower Bed
When you search for cut flower garden ideas, you’ll often see images of large gardens with rows of different flowers. But, that isn’t realistic if you have a small backyard.
Luckily, you can still have a cut flower garden. All you need is enough room to place araised bed. These typically measure around four to five feet in width.
Since you’ll be adding soil to the raised bed, it can be placed on a concrete patio or wooden deck. In this case, you may want to invest in a raised bed with a bottom.
Sow zinnia seeds along with cosmos and daisies to complete your raised-cut flower bed.
3. Whimsical Window Boxes and Pots
Don’t keep all your zinnia garden ideas in the backyard. Spruce up your front porch and windows with zinnias in containers.
Zinnias grow well in pots as long as the containers are around six inches in depth. Zinnias grow between 12 to 24 inches in width. So, try to leave a little room in your pot for them to spread.
If you plan on using zinnias in a window box, look for dwarf varieties that won’t cover up your view.
The dark green foliage of zinnias would pair perfectly with trailing plants, such as creeping Jenny or sweet potato vine.
Zinnia Garden Ideas for Landscaping
4. DIY Cottage Garden
The cottage garden – an informal mix of all kinds of flowers and greenery. It makes you want to pack your bags and move into an old English cottage.
Did you know that you can bring the cottage garden to your own home? Pick a mix of flowers, and plant them against a fence or wall.
It doesn’t have to be perfectly proportionate. That’s the allure of this type of garden. Let your creativity go wild.
The best flowers to grow in a cottage garden include zinnias, cosmos, black-eyed Susan’s, yarrow, lavender, butterfly bush, and roses. Mix in some herbs, and you’re done. The butterflies will go crazy!
5. Zinnias as a Border Flower
Zinnias make a great border flower, bringing color and fun to an evergreen landscape. While evergreen trees and shrubs provide year-round interest, they don’t often provide fun colors during the summer.
Leaving a little space in front of your evergreens will allow you to incorporate zinnias into your landscaping every year.
Plant mini or dwarf zinnias along the edge of your flower bed border. Use one color bloom throughout, or make it multi-color fun!
Remember to water your zinnias often, as they won’t be as established as your perennial shrubs.
Zinnia Garden Ideas by Design
6. A Rainbow Garden
Here are some zinnia garden ideas for those that love to play with color and texture. The first and most informal is the multi-color zinnia garden.
Zinnias grow in just about every shade you can think of. Some zinnias even bloom in two colors! Having a multi-color garden is a classic way to add an explosion of color.
Several companies sell large bags ofzinnia seedsthat are in different shades of the same variety. All you have to do is scatter your seeds and wait to see which colors bloom where.
You can also handpick which colors you want and mix them yourself. For example, you could use white, red, and dark purple zinnias to create a patriotic garden.
7. Pretty Pastels
Create a soft palette using pastel zinnia seeds. This is one design you’ll most likely have to mix yourself. Look for small packets of zinnia seeds in light yellow,white, soft pink, and light purple.
The light green bloom of theEnvy zinniaalso works well with pastels.
After establishing your pastel zinnia garden, you’ll be able to create spring-themed handmade bouquets full of gorgeous flowers.
Other blooms that would pair well with pastel zinnias include white yarrow, pink celosia, lavender, and larkspur.
8. A Variation of Texture
Color isn’t the only thing you can mix with these zinnia garden ideas. You can also create a variety of textures.
There are many zinnia varieties, and they all have a distinct bloom shapes. For example, the Lilliput zinnia resembles a pompon dahlia and grows into a compact ball.
The cactus zinnia grows into long, skinny petals, while the Benary’s Giant zinnia has large, compact petals.
If you have a favorite color, you can create a unique zinnia garden by purchasing the same color in several different varieties. This will give you tons of texture to play with when you make bouquets and arrangements.
Bringing the Best Zinnia Garden Ideas to Your Home
With any of these above-mentioned zinnia garden ideas, you’ll be adding fun pops of color to your landscape. Whether your yard is large or small, zinnias are the perfect low-maintenance flower to plant. Not to mention, they make the most darling cut flowers.
Interested in more zinnia content?Visit my zinnia pagefor more growing tips, care guides, bouquet suggestions, and more!
