What are your 'happy flowers'?

Just thought of another one @Pink678, if you like bees, and pink, try Lythrum 'Dropmore Purple'. (It's actually dark pink). I'd say that this is even more of a magnet for bees! There are two in this border:

​

 

Stripey flowers make me feel happy, Gazania often has stripes and there are several varieties of Phlox with them too. I have a pretty creeping plant called Omphalodes which is covered in stripy blue and white flowers in early summer, makes me smile every time I see it. Sweet Williams sometimes have stripes too and they also have a sweet scent.
Talking of scent, Sweet Peas and Dianthus have a scent that always gives me a happy feeling.

 

I can!

 

Lythrum 'Dropmore Purple' is lovely, and very nice examples of it in your picture. Anything the bees like I am keen on!

 

Stripes, an excellent idea! I found "Treasure Flower Gazania Rigens Flower Seed Mix" which has a mix of colours with some stripey ones. Stripey phlox and omphalodes look lovely, and sweet williams too. I love sweet peas, the old fashioned ones with wonderful scents. Dianthus I can't resist sniffing in the supermarket - the roger and gallet carnation soap has that scent but of course the real thing is infinitely better.

 

Roses bring me the most pleasure, especially the scented ones, but I am a bit of a rosaholic.

I love most perennials, but to increase the flowering and colour I sow or plant annuals in between. It's a bit too soon for half hardy annuals as they aren't frost proof but you can sow hardy annuals now like Nigella and Calendulas. Half hardy annuals, like Salvia Farinacea look good between perennials. I love heleniums, such as the one that @Plantminded has posted, salvia nemorosa and veronicas. I found that Lythrum needs quite a moist soil.

That brings me to soil, clay, sandy, limey etc. You need the right sort of soil for certain plants and whether it's acid or alkaline or dry or moist. Also whether it's sunny or shady and whether you live in the warmer south or the colder north. Sorry, you only asked which plants make us happy!

 

Roses are sublime, the scented ones are heavenly.
That's a good thing to bear in mind with perennials and annuals.
I am looking forward to having all kinds of flowers to set each other off. Calenulas are a gorgeous bright shade that would be good like that. Heleniums are gorgeous. I do have some saliva nemorasa already, and I like the tall structure it gives. Nigella and veronicas look lovely.
Thank you Busy-Lizzie for telling me about the soil, and yes, I must think about it! I need to look up the soil I have, as I don't know what it is. Position-wise, I have one very sunny south facing bed that gets a bit dry (some lavender, californian poppy, and gladioli there but room for more plants), one east-facing bed with OK sun, one west-facing sun/shade, and one very shady bed that is hard to grow things in. I've got a sunny patio for pots as well. For weather, I am central, so it's quite protected from extremes of weather, it doesn't get overly hot or cold.

 

There are plants that like shady places so you could start a new thread if you want to ask about them.

 

OK thank you, Busy-Lizze

 

Anemone blanda always make us feel better especially when the sun comes out and they open up fully.

 

I just looked them up, they are lovely in all the different colours. There is actually a random one that has popped up in the lawn and I didn't know what it is called, so thanks for the identification!

 

Petunia Tidal Wave Red Velour. This display is from a pot of four.

 

Erigeron karvinskianus aka Mexican fleabane earns its keep.

 

How about geranium Rozanne with Ann Folkard?

 

Nobody's mentioned pansies and violas yet - the ones with 'face' markings always make me