Yellow is definitely a 'Marmite' colour in our gardens - people seem to either love it or hate it. Many people say that they don't like yellow flowers and ban them from their garden. They might tolerate a few yellow flowers such as crocus and daffodils in spring when any splash of colour is welcome, but many people ban it from their summer borders. And it's not difficult to see why - a deep yellow that veers towards mustard or orange (such of those of rudbeckias, for example) can be a tad garish. Unless you're creating a 'hot' border of yellows, oranges and reds or creating an exotic garden, yellow can jar a little.
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But there is another option, which is often overlooked: pale yellow. The softer shades that range from vanilla to lemon combine beautifully with a surprisingly wide range of colours, including pale and bright pinks, pale and dark blue, mauve or purple and also white (pale yellow flowers are in fact often used in white gardens for a little contrast).
A few pops of pale yellow can transform a planting scheme. As cut flower grower and florist Georgie Newbery says: 'Pink and white can be tasteful but oddly blue, even a bit funereal. Add a splash of yellow and the funeral parlour becomes an Italian ice cream shop."
Here are 15 beautiful pale yellow flowers that will light up a border from early summer to autumn.
15 of the best pale yellow plants
Trollius x cultorum 'Taleggio'
With bowl-like, double, lemon blooms that appear in early summer when softer yellows can be hard to find, this globe flower is a standout plant. It is ideally suited to a position in the garden that retains moisture through the summer. Grow in sun or partial shade.
Flowers: May and June
Height x spread: 70cm x 50cm
Papaver miyabeanum
Also known as Oreomecon miyabeana. The wiry, flowering stems of this poppy are topped with delicate, almost tissue-like petals of the palest lemon. The unopened buds are exquisite and covered with soft, black hairs. Plants tend to be short lived but will usually seed around freely given the right conditions. A gem for a rock, gravel or scree garden. Grow in extremely well drained soil in full sun.
Flowers: May and June
Height x spread: 15cm x 15cm
Aquilegia chrysantha
This charming and unusual aquilegia has attractive and charming long spurred flowers that appear slightly later than those of other aquilegias. A great choice for sunny or partially shaded borders.
Flowers: June to August
Height x spread: 80cm x 60cm
Peony 'Bartzella'
This beautiful peony is an intersectional peony, which is a cross between a herbaceous peony and a tree peony. Its large, cupped soft yellow flowers are delicately scented of lemon. Grow in full sun or light shade.
Flowers: June
Height x spread: 90cm x 90cm
Rosa 'Vanessa Bell'
This free-flowering shrub rose, named in honour of the Bloomsbury artist, was launched by David Austin in 2017. Its pink-tinged buds open into fragrant, lemon-yellow blooms that pale to white at the edges. It forms a bushy, upright shrub.
Flowers: Repeat flowers from May, throughout summer
Height x spread: 1m x 90cm
Hemerocallis 'Ariadne'
Daylilies (Hemerocallis) are reliable summer flowering perennials. Their flowers only last for a day, but they are produced in abundance. ‘Ariadne’ holds its luminous, scented flowers well above the foliage. Daylilies are edimentals - they not only look great but have edible flowers, leaves, roots and shoots.
Season of interest: June and July
Height and spread: 90cm x 60cm
Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam'
This reliable and easy perennial has masses of soft-lemon flowers covering the wiry stems from June to September. It needs well-drained soil in sunshine to flourish.
Flowers: June to September
Height x spread: 50cm x 45cm
Oenothera stricta 'Sulphurea'
As its name suggests, the scented flowers open a pale yellow in late afternoon, each one turning by the morning to a wonderful apricot colour for its final few hours before dropping. The buds and stems are flushed with purple-red. This short-lived perennial or biennial self-seeds readily, so as long as there is bare ground for the seedlings to colonise, you should always have it in the garden. Grow in full sun.
Flowers: June to September
Height x spread: 80cm x 30cm
Phlomis russeliana
The hooded, lemon flowers ascend in whorls on tall, erect stems from June onwards. The large, grey-green heart-shaped leaves form a clump at the base, so give it plenty of room. Grow in full sun on well drained soil.
Flowers: June to September
Height x spread: 90cm x 70cm.
Achillea 'Credo'
The tall, upright stems of this yarrow are topped with large, plate-like flowers that age from lemon yellow to cream. Attractive to pollinators. Grow in full sun in well drained soil.
Flowers: June to September
Height x spread: 1.2m x 50cm
Verbascum bombyciferum 'Polarsommer'
Also known as 'Arctic Summer', this mullein is a biennial or shortlived perennial that bears tall and dramatic flower spikes in summer, with luminous yellow flowers. The foliage is silver and hairy. Grow in full sun on very well drained soil.
Flowers: June to August
Height x spread: 2m x 30cm
Cephalaria gigantea
The primrose-coloured flowers of this giant scabious are held on wiry stems, giving a see-through look in a border. It looks great in a naturalistic or prairie-style scheme.
Flowers: June to August
Height x spread: 1.8m x 1.2m
Helianthus debilis 'Vanilla Ice'
‘Vanilla Ice’ is a delicate, multi-branched sunflower that is great at the back of a border and makes a beautiful cut flower. Grow in moist but well-drained soil in full sun.
Flowers: July – September
Height x spread: 1-2m
Cosmos bipinnatus 'Xanthos'
This recently introduced cosmos is already a firm favourite - it looks lovely in a border or in a pot, and makes a great cut flower. The small, mostly single, primrose-yellow flowers have a neat, white ring around the golden eye; a few flowers have extra petals. Deadhead to keep the flowers coming for months.
Flowers: June to October
Height x spread: 1m x 40cm
Dahlia 'Clair de Lune'
For those gardeners who find the bright blooms of dahlias a little too garish, Dahlia ‘Clair de Lune’ is worth considering. It has a voice, but it does not shout. The soft yellow 'collarette' flowers are held on strong stems. Deadhead through the season and it will continue to flower into the autumn.
Flowers: June to October
Height x spread: 1m x 50cm