What Kind of Flowers Grow With Gardenias?

Flowering Shrubs

• Provide enough space between companion shrubs so their roots won't compete with your gardenia plants. Shrubs with similar cultural preferences include the glossy adina (Adina rubella). This deciduous shrub is hardy in zones 6 to 9 and thrives in sun to partial shade, and acidic, well-draining soil. Glossy adinas grow 10 feet tall with a similar spread and have arching branches covered with lustrous, dark foliage. They bloom with aromatic, white blossoms from summer through autumn. The Mexican orange (Choisya ternate) also blooms with aromatic, white flowers. It grows 10 feet tall with a slightly narrower spread and is hardy in zones 7 to 10. This evergreen has fragrant, lustrous foliage and grows well in acidic, well-draining soil in sun to shade.

Flowering Ground Covers

• Flowering groundcovers fill in lightly shady spots under your gardenia with color and texture. Groundcovers help prevent soil erosion and runoff. Choose varieties preferring acidic soil that tolerate some drought. The partridgeberry (Mitchella repens) grows from 12 to 24 inches tall and prefers shady, acidic sites. It blooms with white flowers in spring and has dark, heart-shaped evergreen foliage. Asiatic jasmine (Trachelospermum asiaticum) thrives in shady sites. This creeping vine is hardy in zones 7b to 10 and tolerates a range of soil types. It grows from 8 to 12 inches tall and blooms with small, white-and-yellow flowers.

Perennials

• Perennial flowers die back to the ground in cooler months but regrow in the spring. Species thriving in acidic, well-draining soil include the balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus). It blooms from late spring through summer with blue-and-white blossoms and grows from 1 to 3 feet tall. Before opening into flowers, this perennial's buds resemble filled balloons. The three-toed cinquefoil (Potentilla tridentata) grows from 1 to 10 inches tall. It blooms from summer through fall with bright-yellow blossoms.

Annuals

• Annuals germinate, blossom and die in one growing season, but many species bloom for months, rather than weeks, as most perennials do. Add color to your gardenia planting with California poppies (Eschscholzia californica). These annuals thrive in full sun to partial shade and grow from 12 to 24 inches tall. They bloom all spring with red, orange, yellow and white cup-shaped flowers and tolerate drought. Zinnias (Zinnia elegans) also tolerate drought. They bloom from spring through fall with single or double flowers in a range of colors, from white to purple. Zinnias grow from 6 to 40 inches tall and prefer rich, well-draining soil.