Here are 25 alternative or companion flowers to black-eyed Susan that offer attractive and cheery blooms perfect for your landscape.Gaillardia x Grandiflora, also known as blanket flower, is a short-lived perennial native to North America.Blanket flower is hardy to zones 3-10 depending on the variety and grows 12-18 inches tall with a 12–24-inch spread.Leucanthemum x Superbum is a free-flowering herbaceous perennial native to Europe and naturalized through North America.These summer bloomers produce a sea of large, snow-white, single daisy flowers with golden-centered disks borne atop basal rosettes of leathery, deep green leaves.Shasta daisies thrive in full sun; however, partial shade is beneficial in scorching conditions.It boasts huge double flowers that resemble daisies in white, yellow, and orange shades from early summer until frost.Sunflowers have broad oval to heart-shaped hairy leaves and large single flowerheads that resemble a brilliant sunset.Common sunflowers are available in bright yellow, orange, red, mahogany, or brown colors.Zinnia Elegans are gorgeous shrubs native to South America, Mexico, and the southwestern United States.Zinnias have rough, lance-shaped leaves and produce beautiful flowers in late spring to first frost.Zinnia has long, sturdy stems and blooms with double, fully rounded flowers packed with petals in striking snow-white, pink, coral, lavender purple, bright yellow, orange, red, and green colors.It creates a gorgeous display of lilac-blue, purple, or pink star-shaped flowers with golden button centers from summer to fall.Bachelor buttons are hardy to zones 3-8 and grow 1-2 feet tall and 12-18 inches wide.Bachelor buttons boost prolific blooms when planted in full sunlight and dry to medium moisture, well-draining soil.English button (cornflower) tea treats fever, chest congestion, constipation, and water retention.Coreopsis verticillate ‘Moonbeam,’ commonly known as tickseed, is a member of the aster family and is native to North America.Tickseed is an herbaceous perennial hardy to zones 3-9 and grows 1,5-2 feet tall with a similar spread.From early summer to fall, tickseed produces gorgeous, butter-yellow daisy-like flowers upon neat, fern-like foliage.Daydream coneflowers grow in hardy zones of 4-10 and mature to 1-2 feet tall and wide.Daydream coneflowers have an upright habit with dark green foliage and slender toothless leaves.Daydream coneflowers bloom from early to late summer, showcasing prominent central cones and thin, drooping pale yellow flower petals.Daydream coneflowers bloom flowers prolifically when planted in full sunlight and well-draining soil that isn’t too rich.In summer, they boast a profusion of yellow to golden showy flowers with untoothed petals.Mexican hats grow in a hardy zone of 4-9 and mature to 3 feet tall and 18 inches wide.Mexican hats are upright-forming perennials with slender stems and bright green deeply clefted foliage.Mexican hats bloom from late spring into fall, showcasing a profusion of golden-yellow or rusty-red drooping daisies with prominent central cones.Mexican hats bloom flowers prolifically when planted in full sunlight and non-rich, loamy, or sandy, well-draining soil.Gerbera daisies prefer moist, well-drained soil and thrive effortlessly when given enough water- one inch of weekly watering will suffice.Gerbera daisies are generally used as an ornamental flower for garden beds and bouquets, but they can be infused in a tea to treat bronchitis and coughs.German chamomile is a unique herb boasting masses of aromatic foliage and daisy-like flowers throughout summer.German chamomile blooms prolifically when planted in full sunlight and well-draining soil that isn’t too rich.The false sunflower is an easy growing, short-lived perennial that from clumps of upright stiff-branched stems with ovate, toothed leaves.The false sunflower thrives in full sun and will tolerate partial shade, but blooms will not be as prolific.African daisies are bushy, evergreen, tender perennials with lance-shaped or broadly ovate foliage depending on the variety.African daisies bloom purple, pink, white, yellow, orange, or bicolored flowers with a long-lasting display from spring to fall.Angelonia, also knowns as summer snapdragon, have flexible stems with narrow, pointed foliage.In summer, Angelonia boasts a profusion of showy spikes or gorgeous flowers in white and various shades of pink and purple.Yellow alyssum plants thrive in full sun and prefer dry, sandy to average, well-draining soil.Golden Marguerite has a hardy zone of 3-7 and grows 2-3 feet tall and 1-2 inches wide.Sneezeweed has brilliant daisy-like blooms in golden-yellow, deep orange, coppery brown, and mahogany red colors that showcase in late summer to fall.Sneezeweed flowers bloom prolifically when planted in full sunlight with at least 6 hours of sun each day and well-draining soil that isn’t clay.Dried flowers have been used as a snuff to create a sneezing effect to relieve congestion and clear nasal passages during colds and respiratory infections, giving it its common name ‘Sneezeweed.’.These plants thrive in full sun but are tolerant of part shade, and they grow in any well-drained soil type.Nipponanthemum Nipponicum is an herbaceous perennial flower native to the coastal regions of Japan.Romneya Coulteri is a tender rhizomatous perennial native to California and northern Mexico.Matilija poppies are spectacular shrub-like perennials with apricot-scented, large white flowers with a ball-shaped center of vibrant yellow stamens.Each flower’s petals have a delicate, wrinkly, crepe-paper texture, somewhat resembling a large fried egg.Matilija poppy plant was medicinally used to treat skin and gum problems as well as an upset stomach.Knautia has slender; tall branching stems with green, barely lobed basal foliage.From summer to fall, Knautia produces crimson pincushion flowers atop its branching stems.
Edward R. Forte
Author