Oregon gardeners know the struggle of maintaining beautiful blooms through our rainy springs and dry summers. That’s where self-seeding flowers come to the rescue! These garden champions drop seeds that sprout on their own next season, creating effortless displays year after year.
For those of us who prefer admiring flowers to constantly planting them, these 15 self-seeders will transform your Oregon garden into a low-maintenance paradise.
1. California Poppy
Golden-orange blooms carpet Oregon hillsides from spring through fall, proving how well these native West Coast flowers thrive here. They love our sunny, dry summers and well-draining soil.
In my Portland garden, these poppies started as a small patch and now appear in sunny spots throughout the yard. Their drought tolerance makes them perfect for Oregon’s increasingly dry summers.
Simply scatter seeds in fall or early spring, then step back. Once established, you’ll have volunteers popping up for years, with fern-like foliage that looks pretty even before the flowers open.
2. Bachelor’s Button
Blue as an Oregon summer sky, these classic cottage garden flowers (also called cornflowers) reliably return year after year. My grandmother grew them in her Willamette Valley garden decades ago, and they’re still popular today.
Sprinkle seeds directly in garden beds once frost danger passes. Their slim profile makes them ideal for tucking between other plants or naturalizing in meadow-style gardens throughout western Oregon.
Harvest a few stems for bouquets, but leave plenty to form seedheads. They’ll drop seeds that sprout easily next spring, often in unexpected places that create charming garden surprises.
3. Cosmos
Tall and airy with daisy-like blooms, cosmos create movement and color from midsummer until first frost hits Oregon gardens. Pink, white, and magenta varieties dance above ferny foliage, reaching up to 4 feet tall.
Last year, I scattered a packet in my Eugene backyard and now have dozens of volunteers. They particularly thrive in our well-drained valley soils where they get full sun.
Leave the dried flower heads standing through fall—they’ll drop thousands of seeds. The following spring, thin out excessive seedlings if needed, though their open growth habit rarely becomes problematic even when they self-seed generously.
4. Calendula
Cheerful orange and yellow blooms keep producing from spring through fall in Oregon’s mild climate. Also called pot marigold, these aren’t just pretty—they’re useful companions that deter garden pests naturally.
My coastal Oregon garden has calendulas that return faithfully each year, brightening gray days. They handle our cool, damp springs better than many flowers and keep blooming into November most years.
Save yourself trouble and let spent flowers remain on plants. The curved seeds fall to the ground, nestling into soil cracks where they’ll sprout when conditions are right, usually in early spring.
5. Sweet Alyssum
Honey-scented white carpets spread between garden paths throughout Oregon gardens, attracting beneficial insects while suppressing weeds. This low-growing beauty handles our climate exceptionally well, often blooming nearly year-round in milder parts of the state.
Scatter seeds in spring or fall—they germinate quickly in our cool, damp conditions. Once established in my Salem garden, they’ve returned for years, filling gaps between perennials and tumbling over stone walls.
The tiny seeds drop directly beneath parent plants, creating dense mats that rarely become invasive. They’re particularly useful in Oregon rock gardens, where they soften hard edges while requiring virtually no care.
6. Love-in-a-Mist
Delicate blue flowers floating above thread-like foliage create an ethereal effect in spring Oregon gardens. Also called Nigella, these unusual blooms are followed by fascinating seed pods that add interest through summer.
Sow once, enjoy forever—that’s been my experience in the Rogue Valley. The seeds handle our winters perfectly, sprouting early when spring soil warms.
Most impressively, they adapt to Oregon’s varied conditions, performing equally well in my friend’s soggy Portland yard and my drier southern exposure. Their distinctive seedpods can be dried for arrangements, though leave plenty to ensure next year’s magical blue cloud returns.
7. Foxglove
Towering spires of spotted throated bells emerge in Oregon’s dappled woodland gardens, perfectly suited to our state’s many shaded areas. Native to similar climates, these biennial beauties self-seed prolifically in western Oregon’s acidic soils.
My shady Eugene backyard hosts generations of foxgloves that have never been replanted. They appear in new spots each year, creating woodland magic with minimal effort.
First-year plants form low rosettes of leaves; flowering stalks shoot up the second year. Allow spent stalks to stand until seeds disperse completely—you’ll be rewarded with new plants that maintain themselves indefinitely in Oregon’s ideal growing conditions.
8. Hollyhock
Statuesque sentinels reaching skyward with pastel blooms, hollyhocks bring old-fashioned cottage charm to Oregon gardens. Standing 6-8 feet tall, these architectural beauties create vertical interest against fences and walls.
My neighbor’s Salem garden has hollyhocks that descended from her grandmother’s plants—decades of continuous growth without replanting. They particularly thrive in our valley’s rich soil.
Technically short-lived perennials, they function as reliable self-seeders in Oregon. The large, flat seeds drop near parent plants, creating informal colonies that return year after year with increasing abundance if left undisturbed.
9. Black-eyed Susan
Golden petals radiating around chocolate centers bring summer sunshine to Oregon gardens from July through September. Native to North America, these rudbeckias have adapted beautifully to our growing conditions throughout the state.
Sprinkle seeds in prepared soil in spring, then enjoy years of returns. My Portland community garden plot has black-eyed Susans that reappear in slightly different patterns each year, creating natural-looking drifts.
Late-season pollinators flock to the flowers, while birds appreciate the seeds if you leave the cones standing through winter. This dual wildlife value makes them especially valuable in Oregon’s eco-conscious gardens.
10. Coreopsis
Sunny yellow daisies dancing on slender stems brighten Oregon gardens from early summer through fall. Their drought tolerance once established makes them especially valuable in our state’s increasingly dry summers.
Scatter seeds in spring after frost danger passes. Within weeks, seedlings emerge, and flowering begins by midsummer in most Oregon gardens. My Bend garden has coreopsis that returns reliably despite high desert temperature swings.
Deadhead early blooms to encourage more flowers, but late in the season, let seedheads form and drop. The tiny seeds find their way into soil crevices where they’ll wait until conditions are right to sprout next year.
11. Larkspur
Spikes of blue, pink, and purple flowers rise like colorful exclamation points in Oregon’s early summer gardens. Similar to their perennial cousins (delphinium) but easier to grow, annual larkspurs excel at self-seeding in our climate.
Fall-sown seeds often perform best in Oregon, germinating during winter’s cool, wet conditions. My Willamette Valley garden has larkspur that appears in new spots each year, creating pleasant surprises among established perennials.
The tall stems provide excellent cutting flowers, but leave plenty to form seedpods. By midsummer, the pods split open, scattering seeds that will become next year’s vertical accents with absolutely no effort from you.
12. Sweet Pea
Fragrant, ruffled blooms in candy colors climb fences and trellises throughout Oregon, particularly thriving in our cool spring conditions. Unlike modern hybrids, old-fashioned sweet peas readily self-seed year after year.
Sow directly in fall or earliest spring for best results in Oregon’s climate. The hard, round seeds benefit from our winter moisture, softening naturally for spring germination. My grandmother’s heirloom varieties have maintained themselves in my Hood River garden for a decade.
Cut flowers regularly to extend bloom time, but allow some pods to mature completely. They’ll eventually burst open, flinging seeds several feet from parent plants—nature’s own planting method that requires zero gardener intervention.
13. Nasturtium
Jewel-toned flowers floating above lily pad-like leaves bring easy color to Oregon gardens from late spring until frost. Both flowers and leaves are edible, adding peppery zest to summer salads while decorating the landscape.
Direct sow the large, wrinkled seeds after danger of frost passes. In my coastal Oregon garden, nasturtiums cascade over retaining walls and fill empty spaces between slower-growing perennials.
The plants produce abundant seeds that resemble small, wrinkled brains. These drop to the ground in fall, where Oregon’s winter rains help break down their hard seed coats, ensuring new plants emerge when soil warms the following spring.
14. Columbine
Delicate, spurred blossoms dangle like fairy lanterns in Oregon’s dappled woodland gardens from April through June. Our native Western columbine thrives here naturally, while garden varieties readily adapt to similar conditions.
Start with purchased plants or seeds, then let nature take over. My Eugene shade garden hosts columbines that have maintained themselves for years, spreading to create charming colonies in unexpected spots.
The distinctive seedpods split when ripe, releasing hundreds of tiny black seeds. Oregon’s winter moisture provides perfect conditions for spring germination, and new plants often show slight variations from their parents—a delightful natural hybridization that creates unique garden treasures.
15. Shasta Daisy
Classic white petals surrounding golden centers create timeless beauty in Oregon perennial gardens. Though technically perennial, Shasta daisies are such prolific self-seeders that new plants continuously replace older ones.
Establish initial plants in full sun with average soil. After flowering, leave some stalks standing to form seeds. My Salem garden has maintained a continuous daisy presence for years without deliberate replanting.
The small seeds easily find homes in soil crevices, where Oregon’s mild winters provide perfect stratification conditions. By spring, new seedlings emerge, ensuring the cheerful flowers continue brightening summer gardens without requiring constant gardener intervention.