27 Exuberant Mexican Flowers that will Sparkle in Your Garden

With blooms ranging from extravagant to humble, Mexican flowers add a playful splash to your landscape. From the ancient Mayans to the Aztecs, you are about to participate in a horticultural tradition steeped in mystery, majesty, and, most of all, magic.

27 of the Most Playful Mexican Flowers to Plant for a Garden Filled with Color

As you look through the flowers listed below, you will see some instantly recognizable friends like the poinsettia and the marigold. Others like the chocolate flower might be new and exciting. Include some of these in your garden, and you will not have to travel south of the border to enjoy some incredible Mexican flowers.

1. Mexican Orange Blossom (Choisya Ternata)

Native to sweeping portions of the southwest states as well as Mexico, this evergreen shrub exudes a delightful fragrance. Both the leaves and orange flowers smell like orange blossoms, making it a great hedge-forming plant to use near paths or seating. With a lengthy blooming season, it is an excellent addition to any landscape.

2. Prickly Pear (Opuntia Macrorhiza)

Yes, you can still enjoy flowers even if your garden’s soil is closer to a desert than loamy soil. The prickly pear produces a profusion of pleasing pale yellow blossoms through the summer. These delicate yellow flowers are the perfect counterpoint to the bristly green foliage.

3. Firewheel (Gaillardia Pulchella)

Characterized by bright colors and hardy resilience, Firewheel flowers create a blanket-like carpet of color wherever they are grown. These types of Mexican flowers even attract goldfinches if you do not immediately deadhead the spent blossoms. As long-blooming wildflowers, Firewheel puts on a colorful show all season.

4. Hummingbird Yucca (Hesperaloe Parviflora)

If you are experimenting with xeriscaping, hummingbird yucca might be right for your space. As it thrives in barren, desert-like conditions, pictures of these Mexican flowers simply cannot do them full justice. To bring even more beauty to desert surroundings, the long-blooming tubular pink flowers also attract hummingbirds.

5. Upright Prairie Coneflower (Ratibida Columnifera)

Invite this bushy prairie wildflower into your garden to enjoy playful Mexican flower plants all summer. Two-inch-long cones make these flowers some of the most unique in your garden. Vibrant yellow petals add a splash of joy to the flower’s overall effect. Do you see the slender sombrero in this flower’s shape?

6. Mexican Petunia (Ruellia Simplex)

Even if your climate is classified as temperate instead of tropical, you can still enjoy this profusely flowering petunia. As a summertime annual, it happily adapts to a wide variety of growing conditions and will continue to flower until it gets too cold. However, if your winters are warm, it can become invasive.

7. Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia Leucantha)

Images of these Mexican flowers often include the hummingbirds that love them so much. As an annual in cool climates, Mexican bush sage grows into a 36-inch bush with elegant bicolor flowers. If purple and white are welcome in your garden’s color scheme, Mexican bush sage will happily produce flowers until the first frost.

8. Goldflower of the Incas (Tithonia Rotundifolia)

With a joyful demeanor, these are among the perfect types of Mexican flowers to cheer up a tired late summer garden. Although they require staking and deadheading, they attract hummingbirds and butterflies. With a large central disc, it is easy to see why these hardy flowers are also known as “Mexican sunflowers.”

9. Globe Amaranth (Gomphrena Globosa)

Pictures of these Mexican flowers can be a little misleading because the true flower is small, white, and insignificant. The bounteous magenta globes that appear all summer are paper-like bracts. Because these spheres retain their intense color for months after being picked, they are treasured in cut-flower gardens and floral arrangements.

10. Aztec Lily (Sprekelia Formosissima)

A unique shape and impressive color come together in the Aztec lily for an unforgettable Mexican flower. In its natural habitat, the Aztec lily is an alpine flower and prefers rocky and sandy soil to loamy conditions. If you do not live in southern Mexico, this lily can be grown as a striking container-bound houseplant.

11. Dahlia (Dahlia)

Big and bold, dahlias are a high-maintenance Mexican flower to plant if you enjoy a gardening challenge. Although they take some extra work to grow year after year, the show-stopping flowers are worth the effort. These garden superstars look happiest in groups of at least five and are legendary for their value as cut flowers.

12. French Marigold (Tagetes Patula)

Despite its name, French marigold is actually native to Mexico. Because these flowers are very easy to grow, they are a great choice for new gardeners. French marigolds are available in a wide variety of flower forms and colors including bright yellow, copper-hued orange, and rich burgundy.

13. Creeping Zinnia (Zinnia Angustifolia)

As shown in images of these Mexican flowers, creeping zinnia can be found in a variety of fun-loving colors. Because they only reach about 16 inches in height, creeping zinnia works incredibly well as an edging element in your garden design. If you dislike deadheading spent flowers, creeping zinnia is the plant for you.

14. Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)

As a popular container plant, it might be surprising to learn that peace lilies are native to Mexico. Large, glossy, dark green leaves offer a soothing ambiance while the distinct white inflorescence adds a unique element to any garden. Images of these Mexican flowers give a glimpse of how peaceful a landscape can be.

15. Desert Willow (Chilopsis Linearis Lucretia Hamilton)

Fuchsia flowers clustered on this shrub’s branches are a great way to attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Although the desert willow is smaller than a tree, its 20-foot spread does take some planning to be included in your garden. This variety of desert willow is slightly smaller and known for its intensely colored blooms.

16. Morning Glory (Ipomoea Purpurea)

Morning glory flowers are notorious for their magnificent white-throated flowers and their rapid tending toward aggressive growth. With their exquisite color, it is easy to see why the ancient Mayans cultivated these vining flowers. To make your landscape happy, give your morning glory vine a basket to dangle from or a trellis to climb.

17. Zephyr Lily (Zephyranthes ‘Itsy Bitsy’)

When grown in Mexico, zephyr lily flowers burst into bounteous bloom after rain showers. Underscored by buoyant yellow, graceful white petals add elegance to a space. Among the best types of Mexican flowers to grow in a rock garden, these ancient lilies look great either on their own or in groups.

18. Sunflower (Helianthus Annuus)

With the tallest varieties reaching 15 feet in height, sunflowers are giants in the world of annual flowers. While the petals shown in this picture are yellow, you can find sunflowers in a range of colors from burgundy to pastels. Because of their height and vivacious nature, sunflowers are best used as borders.

19. Shooting Star (Thymophylla Tenuiloba)

If you are looking for a way to cheer up a rock garden or a desert landscape, yellow shooting star flowers might be just right. To create an immersive space with these long-blooming flowers, use shooting star flowers to cultivate ambiance while using a more ostentatious flower as a focal point.

20. Lemon Mint (Monarda Citriodora)

Because lemon mint happily grows wherever it is planted, it is a great way to bring otherwise barren space into your landscape. When planted in sweeping swathes, these dainty purple flowers also invite butterflies, hummingbirds, and honeybees to the party. When rubbed, the leaves release an attractive lemon-like fragrance.

21. Moss Rose (Portulaca Oleracea)

Among the many types of Mexican flowers that the ancient Mayans enjoyed, moss rose offers unique foliage with a splash of color. Because moss rose thrives in the same rocky soil where other plants perish, it is known for its resilient nature. These flowers look great when planted next to paths as an edging element.

22. Angel’s Trumpet (Datura Inoxia)

Grown in more temperate climates as an annual, angel’s trumpet is a sprawling shrub with ethereal white flowers. Each exudes a powerful fragrance and lives for only a single day. Despite its heavenly appearance, angel’s trumpet is in the nightshade family and is very toxic.

23. Summer Snapdragon (Angelonia Angustifolia)

Native to Mexico, summer snapdragon brings spikes filled with snapdragon-like flowers to your landscape. For those who live in cool temperate climates, these dynamic flowers can be treated as annuals. If blue-violet does not suit your style, summer snapdragons can also be found in white, pink, and multi-colored cultivars.

24. Purple Cestrum (Cestrum Elegans)

Irresistible to hummingbirds, purple cestrum’s red-violet tubular flowers are a treat to any landscape. Coming from southern Mexico, this versatile shrub is very good at climbing. If you find pruning relaxing, a purple cestrum plant might be perfect for your garden. When added to a bird garden, you can enjoy hummingbirds all summer.

25. Yellow Jessamine (Gelsemium Sempervirens)

Yellow Jessamine simply adds a sparkle to a landscape, as can be seen in images of these Mexican flowers. Because these vining flowers can be used as either a groundcover or a climber, they are a versatile tool in any landscape designer’s arsenal. As winter ends, yellow Jessamine brings joyful color to the landscape.

26. Chocolate Flower (Berlandiera Lyrata)

Pictures of these Mexican flowers simply do not capture their full magic. True to its name, the chocolate flower produces a chocolate fragrance that is strongest in the early morning. To enjoy an indulgent treat as you stroll through your garden, plant a few of these hardy flowers.

27. Orange Cosmos (Cosmos Sulphureus)

Orange cosmos are one of the few flowers that suffer in fertile soil. If planted somewhere with soil that is too rich, these flowers will topple to the ground. These long-blooming bushy annuals are easy to grow, making them perfect for inexperienced gardeners. To add some glamor to your landscape, find a double-flowering cultivar.

27 of the Most Playful Mexican Flowers to Plant for a Garden Filled with Color

Given that Mexico’s climate is warmer than the majority of the United States, you might expect that Mexican flowers are unable to grow in colder conditions. A surprising number of these plants can thrive in cooler hardiness zones without any trouble. By treating the less hardy types of Mexican flowers as either annuals or houseplants, you can still enjoy their bountiful beauty.

As you design (or redesign) your garden, keep these radiant flowers in mind. Many are low-maintenance and resilient, making them excellent candidates for filling in parts of your garden where other flowers fail to thrive.