Ornamental plants, in addition to beautifying, have medicinal, melliferous, entomological and environmental utility; however, the studies carried out in this group are not very representative. The objective was to evaluate the diversity and social perception of the ornamental flora present in suburban farms in Santiago de Cuba and its potential to generate goods and services at a community scale. Selected the farms, samplings were carried out to establish the composition and diversity of ornamental evaluating the Richness of Species, Dominance of Simpsons and General Diversity. Then interviews were applied to people related to the production or use of ornamental plants. 6 778 individuals belonging to 36 families, 52 genera and 57 species were found. The botanical composition was variable, tending to increase from one period to the next, being the families Amaryllidaceae, Asteraceae, Araceae and Euphorbiaceae the ones that contributed the most. The richness varied between 1 and 24 species, the highest being reported in the farm La Esperanza for both periods. The dominance values were within the established range, although de trend was to increase with the arrival of the rain, influenced by 26.31% of the species that were the most abundant. The general diversity varied between 0 and 2.7720 decreasing with the change of period; however, in Tres Palmas, La Juliana and La Sorpresa farms, values were not obtained within the established range. There is good social perception about this group of plants and improving their availability was recognized as a social need.