If you’re thinking about giving your garden a little makeover or are planning on creating a new outdoor space, you will probably be faced with the mammoth task of deciding what plants and flowers you want to include! This can be fun and exciting for many people, but for others, they would like a short and sweet description so they can quickly decide if it’s a firm yes, a maybe, or a no.
This list of wonderful flower names that begin with E should be a good start, and help you in deciding what beautiful plants to include in your garden! It is important to bear in mind that many tropical perennials can (and are!) often grown as annuals in cooler climates or given a little extra care over winter. So there’s no need to feel disheartened if your heart is set on including a warm-weather perennial in your space!
#1 Early Goldenrod
Early goldenrod is a lovely herbaceous perennial that is native to eastern North America. These plants are easy to grow and require little maintenance once established! It is a tough and hardy flower that tolerates poor soils and likes fun sun conditions. They will reach between 1.5 and 4 feet high, and produce fragrant, showy flowers.
Their small, sunshine yellow flowers are grouped together forming attractive, feathery plumes. Plant early goldenrods in drought-tolerant displays, or in pollinator gardens where they will support a large variety of wildlife! These plants are important for butterflies, specialized bees, and songbirds which will eat their seeds. Their flowers are sometimes blamed as being the culprit for hayfever, but this isn’t the case.
#2 Ear-leaved Tickseed
Also known as mouse-eared tickseed, these sunny little perennials have long-lasting, showy flowers that will brighten up the garden over spring and summer! These flowers are low-growing reaching a maximum height of 2 feet tall, making them fantastic choices for borders. Dwarf cultivars exist that only grow as large as 9 inches, lending them particularly as filler plants in beds.
Ear-leaved tickseed has daisy-like flowers that reach 1-3 inches wide and have 7-20 outer rays. Their golden yellow flowers have serrated petal tips and rise above the dark green foliage on thin stalks. They will attract bees and butterflies into the area as well as songbirds for their seeds. Plant them in pollinator or rock gardens for a bright pop of color!
#3 Edelweiss
Edelweiss or Leontopodium alpinum is an interesting little perennial flower that is found in alpine regions of Europe. They are members of the daisy family, Asteraceae, although their flowers don’t have much of a daisy-like appearance! Their small yellow flower heads sit in dense clusters of 2-10 on top of 6-9 wooly, silvery, lance-shaped leaves, giving an overall star shape!
These plants are low-growing and clump-forming, preferring full sun and cool summer climates. They reach a maximum of 10 inches tall, and in time will spread to form attractive colonies. Plant them in rock or alpine gardens for a unique display of wooly-looking flowers from July to September!
#4 Egyptian Star Flower
Also sometimes called the Egyptian star cluster or simply star cluster, these plants are tropical perennials that originally come from parts of Eastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. In cooler areas, these plants are often grown as annuals or indoors as houseplants, with several attractive cultivars available! They can tolerate some light shade but will perform best under full sunshine.
Under optimum growing conditions they produce flowers year-round, but in more temperate climates they can be expected to flower in summer and fall. Egyptian star flowers have 3-inch wide flowerheads that are made up of densely packed, star-shaped, tubular blooms. Flowers come in shades of white, yellow, pink, red, and purple. The red variety in particular is a top choice for hummingbirds.
#5 Elephant Ear
Elephant ears refer to a large group of plants belonging to the genera Alocasia, Colocasia, and Xanthosoma. These tropical perennials are often grown in their native regions not for their beauty as ornamentals, but for their starchy tubers which are an important food source in some places. They have flat, arrow, or heart-shaped leaves that in some varieties can be as large as 3 feet long and 2 feet wide under optimum conditions.
Elephant ears make extremely popular foliage plants that come in many shades of green and purple, sometimes with attractive markings! However, they do also have attractive flowers that are more likely to appear when they are grown in their native habitat. These large, fragrant flowers can be tucked away and are yellow, white, or green, and have a typical aroid form.
#6 Elderberry
Sometimes called the common elderberry or American elderberry, these deciduous shrubs or small flowering trees come from North America and have delightfully fragrant flowers! They prefer moist areas and in the wild are found growing along stream banks or in marshy areas. In gardens, they make wonderful hedges or pond-side ornamentals!
Elderberries can grow as high as 12 feet with an arching habit. Over spring and summer, they produce lovely 4-10 inches clusters of creamy white, star-shaped flowers! These plants are incredibly important for wildlife, as several types of pollinators are attracted to their flowers and their fruits are eaten by birds and mammals. Their purple berries are edible once cooked and are used for jams, pies, winemaking, and more!
#7 English Bluebell
English bluebells, classified as Hyacinthoides non-scripta are delightful bulbous perennials that are heavily associated with springtime in the UK where they, among other bluebell species, carpet the floor of woodlands and forests in a sea of blue-purple! They prefer partial shade but are tolerant of full shade, and are well-suited for English, cottage-style, and woodland gardens.
They grow as high as 18 inches and have upright stems that rise above the foliage and are adorned on one side with hanging, tubular, bell-shaped flowers. Their flowers are fragrant and are typically blue-purple, although rarely they can be white or pink. They look particularly stunning planted en-masse in large drifts but can be grown in pots.
#8 English Daisies
Bellis perennis, or English daisies, also go by many other names including common daisies, noon daisies, and true daisies. They are herbaceous perennials that are often grown as annuals in colder regions. Their main flowering event is during spring and summer, followed by sporadic blooming up until the first frost. Under optimum conditions, they can be quick to take over the garden, so take care to contain them if necessary. Keeping them in pots may be a good solution!
English daisy flowers are daisy-like and rosette-forming with golden yellow centers. They come in shades of red, white, or pink, and can also be semi-double to fully double. These plants make pretty additions to any garden but look especially at home in pollinator, rock, or patio gardens.
#9 English Iris
Although these lovely plants are called English Irises, presumably for their popularity in England, they are actually native to France and Spain! These beautiful bulbous perennials are showier than other irises and have a little bit of an exotic look about them. Their flowers come in delightfully soft and rich shades of blue, purple, yellow, and white, lending them to cottage-style or coastal garden schemes.
English irises adore basking in the sun and should be kept moist over the growing season, making them fantastic for pond landscaping. When planted en masse they make a big statement in the garden but should be handled with a little care as they can cause contact dermatitis and are poisonous to people. They may also cause problems for animals so keep an eye on pets.
#10 Evening Primrose
Evening primroses are a group of flowering plants that belong to the genus Oenothera, however, the name is most often associated with the common evening primrose, Oenothera biennis. This plant is native to North America and is a biennial that can grow between 3 and 5 feet and has an upright growing habit. It has showy, goblet-shaped, bright yellow flowers that open up at dusk and close by morning! They are great choices for cottage-style and wildflower gardens.
Another popular species is O. speciosa, or the Mexican evening primrose, which is a low-growing perennial suitable for ground cover. It has lovely pale pink flowers that also close during the day. These plants are a top choice for rock or pollinator gardens!
#11 Everlasting Flower
The everlasting flower, Xerochrysum bracteatum, previously known as Helichrysum bracteatum, is a short-lived tender perennial that is often grown as an annual. It is also sometimes referred to as the strawflower and is native to Australia. These tropical plants are low-maintenance and can be grown very easily in dry to average soils.
They have an almost daisy-like appearance with a yellow central disc surrounded by outer rays that have a papery, straw-like feel to them, hence the name strawflower. These outer petals come in many vivid colors like yellow, orange, pink, red, and white. When dried, their flowers will keep their shape and color, making them great for dried flower displays!
