The Best Flowers to Use Around Your Mailbox
Mandevilla
This tropical flowering vine will wind up your mailbox post to create a display with serious curb appeal. It's a classic bloom that adds great vertical space to your mailbox garden. Mandevilla is an annual that comes in white, red, pink, and yellow blooms and can grow between 3- to 10-feet high by 3- to 4-feet wide. Some mandevilla selections comes in mounded forms too, so make sure to get the vining type for your mailbox.
Botanical Name: Mandevilla sanderi
Sun Exposure: Full sun, part shade
Soil Type: Well draining, moist
Soil pH: Acidic to neutral
Clematis 'Jackmanii'
This crawling flowering vine will add a touch of natural beauty to your mailbox post. Clematis 'Jackmanii' is a perennial that blooms from mid-summer to early fall and grows 10- to 15-feet tall with a spread of 3 to 6 feet. It grows in USDA Zones 4 to 8. The top of this vine likes sun but the roots should be protected with mulch. These pretty purple flowers love to climb—consider creating a wire structure to wind around your mailbox and guide the plant's growth.
Botanical Name: A hybrid cross between C. lanuginosa and C. viticella
Sun Exposure: Full sun, partial sun
Soil Type: Well draining, moist
Soil pH: Neutral
'Autumn Joy' Sedum
This pretty pink plant is low-maintenance and grows into the fall, making it the perfect choice for your mailbox garden. It also attracts fall pollinators like bees and butterflies! As an easy-to-grow perennial, it is a heat- and drought-tolerant succulent. It is hardy to USDA Zones 3 to 9 and grows 1 foot, 6 inches to 2-feet tall and wide. There are many varieties of sedum, which also goes by the common name stonecrop.
Botanical Name: Hylotelephium Herbstfreude 'Autumn Joy'
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Type: Well draining
Soil pH: Neutral to slightly alkaline
Lavender
Lavender is known for its ability to withstand harsh conditions, which makes it an ideal curbside plant. It won't be bothered by roadside salts and it bursts into bloom in direct sun. This perennial herb, hardy to USDA Zones 5 to 9, is edible and fragrant, and can be dried or used in cooking and cut arrangements. It blooms in summer with purple flowers and attracts butterflies and bees. It has a mounding form and grows 1- to 3-feet tall and wide. This herb is also called English lavender, true lavender, or common lavender.
Botanical Name: Lavandula angustifolia
Sun Exposure: Full sun, part shade
Soil Type: Well draining
Soil pH: Neutral to alkaline
Zinnias
Attract all the bees, birds, and butterflies with colorful zinnias, a favorite flower amongst pollinators. These low-maintenance, easy-to-grow annuals come in a wide variety of colors, sizes, and bloom types. Heights can range from 8-inch tall dwarf-sized varieties like the 'Thumbelina Dwarf Mix' to tall varieties like 'State Fair Mix' that can reach 4-feet high. Blooms can be single, double, or semi-double rows of petals, and you can pick one color to grow or mixes of vibrant colors. Enjoy zinnia blooms spring through fall.
Botanical Name: Zinnia elegans
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Type: Well draining
Soil pH: Acid, alkaline, or neutral
Dianthus
In the family of carnations, dianthus will add a delicate touch to your curbside garden. Varieties grow in the fall and spring and, in addition to boasting interesting blooms, they'll beautifully perfume your mailbox garden. Perennial dianthus, called "pinks" because the flower petals look like they were trimmed with pinking sheers, are grown in USDA Zones 4 to 9. Dianthus attracts pollinators and grows 4 inches to 3-feet high with a spread between 1 to 2 feet.
Botanical Name: Dianthus plumarius
Sun Exposure: Full sun, part shade
Soil Type: Well draining
Soil pH: Neutral
Russian Sage
If you're looking to fill in a large area, look no further than Russian sage. This full-growing, lush perennial, hardy to USDA Zones 5 to 9, provides a great backdrop to your mailbox. This low-maintenance shrub has a mounding growth habit, growing 2- to 4-feet high and wide. Purple flowers, which attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, bloom from June through October.
Botanical Name: Salvia yangii
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Type: Well draining
Soil pH: Acid, alkaline, or neutral
Summer Phlox
These perennials are a great choice if you're looking for ground coverage and a full, abundant appearance. It blooms through the summer and the fall. Phlox is a native wildflower that comes in pink, purple, and white. It can grow 1- to 5-feet high and 1 foot, 6 inches to 2-feet wide. This low-maintenance plant grows in USDA Zones 5 to 9.
Botanical Name: Phlox Carolina
Sun Exposure: Full sun, part shade
Soil Type: Well draining
Soil pH: Acidic
Rugosa Rose
Want the polished appearance of roses without all the intensive labor? Meet rugosa rose, also known as shrub roses. These shrubs grow in a mounded form 4- to 6-feet high and wide. This deciduous perennial, hardy in USDA Zones 2 to 7, attracts pollinators, blooming from May though the end of fall, and also producing fruit—bird-loving hips—in August.
Botanical Name: Rosa rugosa
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Type: Moist, Well draining
Soil pH: Acidic to neutral
Daylilies
Daylilies will last a long time with little care required, and they're a great colorful standout to set off green shrubbery. Bloom colors come in yellows, oranges, and reds. These bulb perennials, hardy in USDA Zones 3 to 9, work well as ground cover, growing 1- to 3-feet high and wide. They attract birds and butterflies with their beautiful trumpet-shaped flowers.
Botanical Name: Hemerocallis
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Type: Well draining, slightly moist, high in organic matter
Soil pH: Slightly acidic
Columbine
Want to grow your very own mailbox fairy garden? These magical-looking blooms love the shade, so they're a great option for shadowy curbsides. Columbine is a perennial that blooms from spring to summer and grows 1- to 3-feet high and 6 inches to 2-feet wide. It comes in a variety of colors and grows in USDA Zones 3 to 9.
Botanical Name: Aquilegia
Sun Exposure: Part shade
Soil Type: Well-draining, moist
Soil pH: Neutral to slightly acidic
Petunia
You've likely seen these classic flowers in too many curbside garden beds to count, and it's for good reason. These annuals are easy to grow, love to soak up the sun, and bloom in abundant bursts of long-lasting color. Petunias attract hummingbirds and butterflies, and come is a variety of colors, flower sizes, and growth habits. Trailing or spreading petunias, like wave petunias, will create a carpet of color very quickly.
Botanical Name: Petunia x hybrida
Sun Exposure: Full sun, part shade
Soil Type: moist well draining
Soil pH: Acidic
Lantana
Lantana will provide coverage very quickly around your mailbox while attracting birds and butterflies. Lantana blooms in white, yellow, purple, orange, and vibrant multicolored combinations. It grows in shrub or trailing forms. Lantana is an annual with some perennial selections, such as 'Chapel Hill' and 'Miss Huff,' that grow in USDA zones 7 to 11.
Botanical Name: Lantana camara
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Type: Well draining, moist
Soil pH: Neutral
Rosemary
Not only is rosemary an attractive evergreen shrub to border your mailbox, it is an aromatic herb that can be dried or used for cooking or floral arrangements. Rosemary blooms—in white, pink, purple, or blue flowers—in June and July and attracts butterflies and bees. This perennial, in USDA Zones 8-10, grows up to 3- to 4-feet hight with a spread of 3- to 4-feet wide.
Botanical Name: Salvia rosmarinus
Sun Exposure: Full
Soil Type: Well draining, dry to medium moisture
Soil pH: Acid
Coneflower
Coneflower is a good candidate for mailboxes because they are easy to grow in poor soils and hot, humid, and dry conditions. As low-maintenance, native herb, coneflower grows 1- to 2-feet high with a 10-inch to 1- foot 6-inch spread. It's also a perennial that grows in USDA Zones 3 to 8. Flowers can be pink, purple, or white and attract birds, butterflies, and bees.
Botanical Name: Echinacea angustifolia
Sun Exposure: Full sun, partial shade
Soil Type: Well draining
Soil pH: Acid, neutral
Black-Eyed Susan
If your mailbox is near the street, water sources and soil condition may not be as ideal as further in. For a plant that can stand up to curbside conditions—look to black-eyed Susan, a drought-tolerant native wildflower. Flowers come in shades of yellow, orange, and red, attracting pollinators and birds. It grows 2- to 4-feet wide with a 1- to 2-feet spread.
Botanical Name: Rudbeckia hirta
Sun Exposure: Full sun, part shade
Soil Type: Well draining, moist, sometimes dry
Soil pH: Acid, alkaline, or neutral
Purslane
For a heat, drought-tolerant ground cover, try purslane, a succulent annual, by your mailbox. Also called moss rose, its blooms come in a wide variety of colors—yellow, orange, pink, red, and white—that close in the evening and on overcast days. Purslane attracts butterflies, and it is a spreading plant that grows up to 8-inches tall and about a foot wide.
Botanical Name: Portaluca
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Type: Well draining
Soil pH: Acid, alkaline, or neutral
Blanket Flower
This native perennial is drought and salt tolerant making it a good candidate as a border near a street-adjacent mailbox. It's a mounding, spreading plant that grows up to 2 feet high and 1 foot, 6 inches wide. Blooms come in hot colors—yellow, orange, red, and variegated—and attract pollinators. Blanket flower is from the daisy family, is heat and humidity tolerant, and grows in USDA Zones 3 to 9.
Botanical Name: Gaillardia
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Type: Well draining
Soil pH: Slightly acidic
When deciding what to plant around a mailbox, there are a few criteria to consider. First, it's important to plant a hardy bloom that doesn't require a ton of maintenance. Mailbox gardens are ideally self-sufficient and won't require intensive care (so you don't have to trek out to the curb for serious pruning sessions). In addition to flowers that are low-maintenance, you want to plant blooms that can withstand curbside conditions, from rocky soil to high salt levels from the road. Tailor your mailbox garden to the unique conditions of your curb—if your mailbox is completely shaded, try a shade-loving plant like ferns. If it's in direct, persistent sunlight, plant lavender to daylilies. Lastly, it's key for mailbox gardens to have great curb appeal. We love planting bright, colorful flowers around our mailbox that really wow and distract from the harsh metal of a standing mailbox. Here are 18 of our favorite blooms that will help you transform your drab curb space into a lush garden.