30 Flowers That Start With G (Names, Bloom Times & Toxicity)

Flowers that start with G include the plant blamed every autumn for hay fever it does not cause, and one that is genuinely lethal. Gladioli, gardenias, geraniums, gerberas, grape hyacinths and gypsophila are the mainstays — alongside gorse, globe thistle and the flame lily.

This guide covers 30 flowers beginning with G, with botanical names, plant type, bloom season and what distinguishes each. Toxic species are flagged.

Flowers Starting With G: Complete List

The Toxic Ones

Gloriosa

The flame lily, a climbing tuber with extraordinary reflexed petals in red and yellow that curl backwards like a flame. It is the national flower of Zimbabwe and is grown as an ornamental and cut flower worldwide.

Golden Chain Tree

Laburnum, hung with long chains of yellow pea flowers in late spring and often trained over arches to spectacular effect.

Bulbs and Corms

Gladiolus

The name comes from the Latin for a small sword, describing the leaves rather than the flower. Blooms open sequentially from the bottom of the spike upward, which is why cut stems keep going for well over a week — and why removing spent lower flowers keeps them looking fresh. Corms are lifted in cold regions, since most cultivated gladioli are South African and not frost-hardy.

Galanthus

Usually the first flower of the year, pushing through frozen ground and often flowering in snow, with hardened leaf tips adapted to break through frost. Snowdrops establish far better moved “in the green” — in leaf just after flowering — than as dry bulbs. Collectors pay remarkable sums for rare cultivars, a phenomenon known as galanthomania.

Grape Hyacinth

Dense spikes of tiny blue urn-shaped flowers that genuinely resemble an upside-down bunch of grapes. It naturalises rapidly, which is either the appeal or the problem. The foliage appears in autumn, months ahead of the flowers, which regularly convinces gardeners something has gone wrong.

Giant Allium

Perfect spheres of dozens of small star-shaped flowers on tall bare stems, holding their architectural shape for months after the colour fades — the dried seedheads are as valuable as the flowers. The foliage yellows and collapses as the flowers open, so plant them behind something that hides their feet.

Giant Spider Lily

Hymenocallis, with extraordinary flowers in which the stamens are joined by a delicate membrane forming a central cup, from which long filaments curl outward like legs. The scent strengthens at night, and the flowers are pollinated by hawkmoths.

Border Perennials

Geranium

Hardy geraniums, or cranesbills, are among the most useful and least demanding perennials there are — long-flowering, weed-suppressing and largely trouble-free. The critical confusion is with pelargoniums, the tender bedding plants universally sold as “geraniums”; the two are different genera and behave completely differently in winter. The name refers to the beaked seed capsule, which resembles a crane’s bill.

Goldenrod

Blamed for hay fever every autumn and entirely innocent. Its pollen is heavy and sticky, carried by insects rather than wind, so it rarely reaches anyone’s nose. The actual culprit is ragweed, which flowers at the same time with inconspicuous green flowers and clouds of airborne pollen. Goldenrod is meanwhile among the most valuable late nectar sources for bees going into winter.

Globe Thistle

Steel-blue spheres on grey stems, and one of the outstanding bee and butterfly plants for a dry border. It is not a true thistle. The heads dry exceptionally well with the colour largely intact, and it tolerates drought and poor soil better than almost anything else in the late-summer border.

Gaura

Slender wiry stems carrying small four-petalled flowers that flutter in the slightest breeze — the common name whirling butterflies is unusually apt. It flowers over an exceptionally long season, tolerates heat and drought, and its airy habit lets it weave between stiffer plants without crowding them.

Garden Phlox

Dense heads of scented flowers in high summer and a traditional backbone of the herbaceous border. Its one persistent weakness is powdery mildew; thinning the stems in spring to improve air circulation and choosing resistant cultivars makes far more difference than spraying.

Gaillardia

Banded red-and-yellow daisies flowering from early summer until frost. Like several other prairie natives it performs best on thin, dry, poor soil — rich ground produces floppy, short-lived plants. Deadheading keeps it going, and it is short-lived enough that letting some seed set is worthwhile.

Geum

Nodding or upward-facing flowers in warm oranges, reds and apricots held on wiry stems above low clumps of foliage. Modern cultivars flower for months if deadheaded. It sits comfortably in the gap between spring bulbs finishing and the main summer border starting.

Globeflower

Trollius, a buttercup relative producing rounded globes of overlapping petals in strong yellow and orange. It needs reliably moist soil and is one of the better choices for a damp border or pond margin where more common perennials sulk.

Goat’s Beard

A large woodland perennial producing tall creamy plumes above divided foliage, looking like a giant astilbe but far more drought-tolerant. Male and female flowers appear on separate plants, with the male plumes noticeably fuller and showier.

Shrubs, Trees and Tender Plants

Gardenia

Famous for an intense, heavy scent, and equally famous for being difficult. It needs acid soil, high humidity, steady warmth and consistent moisture, and it responds to any of those being wrong by dropping buds just before they open — the single most common complaint about the plant. The flowers bruise brown at a touch.

Gorse

Flowers so persistently that the country saying runs “when gorse is out of bloom, kissing is out of season” — it is rarely entirely without flower. The blooms smell distinctly of coconut on warm days. It fixes nitrogen and thrives on poor acid ground, but it is highly flammable and is a serious invasive weed in New Zealand, Australia and parts of North America.

Grevillea

Australian shrubs with brush- or spider-like flowers rich in nectar, adapted for pollination by honeyeaters rather than insects. They flower over remarkably long periods, tolerate drought and poor soil, and dislike phosphorus — standard fertiliser can kill them, which catches out gardeners treating them like ordinary shrubs.

Guelder Rose

A native viburnum with flat lacecap heads in which a ring of large sterile flowers surrounds tiny fertile ones — the showy outer ring exists purely to advertise. It follows with translucent red berries and good autumn leaf colour, making it one of the better wildlife shrubs for a hedgerow.

Golden Rain Tree

Produces large panicles of small yellow flowers in summer, followed by inflated papery seed capsules that look like little lanterns and persist well into autumn. It tolerates pollution, drought and poor soil, which has made it a common street tree — though it self-seeds enthusiastically.

Guzmania

A bromeliad grown for brilliantly coloured bracts that last for months, with the actual flowers small and short-lived within them. Like most bromeliads it flowers once and then slowly dies, producing offsets around the base — so the plant that looks like it is failing is in fact reproducing.

Ginger Lily

Hedychium, producing spikes of butterfly-shaped flowers with an extraordinary scent in late summer, over bold tropical-looking foliage. Several species are hardy enough to survive frost with a deep mulch, which makes them one of the easiest ways to get a genuinely exotic look in a temperate garden.

Annuals and Edibles

Garden Nasturtium

Entirely edible — leaves, flowers and seed pods — with a peppery bite from the same family of compounds as mustard and watercress. The green seed pods can be pickled as a caper substitute. It flowers best in poor soil; rich ground gives enormous leaves and almost no flowers, which is the usual complaint.

Gerbera Daisy

One of the most popular cut flowers in the world, valued for saturated colour and a clean geometric form. The stems rot easily, so they should stand in only a few centimetres of water rather than a deep vase, and the water needs changing frequently. Native to South Africa, where it is the Barberton daisy.

Gazania

South African daisies with vividly banded petals that close in dull weather and at night, so they need genuine sun to perform — in a shaded spot they may barely open at all. They tolerate heat, drought, poor soil and salt spray, which makes them a standard choice for coastal planting.

Godetia

Clarkia amoena, with cup-shaped flowers of a distinctly satiny texture in pinks and lavenders. It is a cool-season annual that flowers best before high summer and fades in heat, so it is sown early and treated as a spring and early-summer plant.

Gentian Sage

Salvia patens produces one of the truest, deepest blues available in any garden plant — genuinely blue rather than blue-purple, which is rarer than most people assume. It grows from tubers, is tender in cold regions, and flowers over a long summer season.

Other Species in This Group

Giant Hibiscus

Giant hibiscus plants are members of the mallow family (Malvaceae), and are commonly called the swamp rose mallow. Wetlands around the southeastern United States are home to giant hibiscus flowers. While growing as an annual in cooler climates, this plant is perennial in Zones 8 through 11. Grayish-green, heart-shaped leaves, and huge trumpet-shaped blooms are characteristics of giant hibiscus bushes. Each pink or white flower, which may reach up to 10 inches wide, only blooms for a short time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What flowers start with the letter G?

Thirty are covered here, including gladiolus, gardenia, geranium, gerbera, goldenrod, grape hyacinth, gypsophila, globe thistle, gloriosa, godetia, gorse, grevillea, guzmania, ginger lily, globeflower, goat’s beard, guelder rose, golden chain tree, golden rain tree, galanthus, gaillardia, gaura, gazania, geum, garden phlox and garden nasturtium.

Does goldenrod cause hay fever?

No. Goldenrod pollen is heavy and sticky and is carried by insects, not wind, so it rarely reaches anyone’s nose. Ragweed flowers at the same time with airborne pollen and is the real cause — goldenrod is simply more visible and takes the blame.

What is the difference between a geranium and a pelargonium?

They are different genera. Hardy geraniums (cranesbills) are perennials that survive frost and return each year. Pelargoniums are tender South African plants sold as “geraniums” for summer bedding and killed by frost. The confusion dates to an early misclassification that never got undone commercially.

Are any flowers starting with G poisonous?

Two seriously. Gloriosa, the flame lily, contains colchicine, has no specific antidote and has caused fatalities — its tubers are mistaken for yam. Laburnum, the golden chain tree, has toxic seeds in pods that children mistake for peas.

Why does my gardenia drop its buds?

Because something in its conditions is inconsistent — usually humidity, temperature swings, or irregular watering. Gardenias need acid soil, steady warmth and even moisture, and they signal any deviation by dropping buds just before they open.

Why won’t my nasturtiums flower?

The soil is too rich. Nasturtiums flower best in poor ground; fertile soil and feeding produce large leaves and very few flowers. Stop feeding and they usually recover.

Sources

Colchicine toxicity in Gloriosa superba and cytisine in Laburnum: clinical toxicology literature. Goldenrod versus ragweed pollen: allergy and aerobiology research. Grevillea phosphorus sensitivity: Australian horticultural guidance.

This article is for general information. Never eat any flower, tuber or seed unless you are certain of its identification — two plants listed here are potentially fatal.

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