40 Best Summer Flowers for the Most Vibrant Garden
Find the prettiest perennials and annuals!
The days are only going to grow warmer from here on out, which means one thing for those with green thumbs: It's time to start planning your summer garden! If you're in The Pioneer Woman's camp, then you love seeing blooms brighten your yard all season long. They're that explosion of color every home needs and, if you're lucky, attract all the best little critters like hummingbirds and bees. So as you brainstorm your landscaping ideas for this year, check out our list of the best summer flowers to help beautify your display. We've found plenty of varieties from perennial plants that regrow every season to shorter-lived annual flowers.
And in case you hadn't noticed, Ree Drummond likes sunflowers... a lot. It's one of her all-time summer favorites that returns year after year. "They're so beautiful," she says. "Once I realized that sunflowers don't need much babying to grow, I was hooked. I bought all kinds of sunflower seeds and planted them behind my veggie garden." Of course, the best variety of summer flower for you really depends on your preferences, fertilizer, and the direction of light cast into your yard.
Depending on your USDA hardiness zone, there are plenty of flowers that will thrive in the heat and humidity. Unlike fall flowers and winter flowers, which wilt under harsh conditions, these showy blooms enjoy full sun exposure. Think varieties like the sunflower, black-eyed Susan, and Shasta daisy, as well as low maintenance plants like lavender and coneflowers. Beginners may want to start with a bed of delphinium or begonias, while more seasoned growers can try their hand at dahlias and hydrangeas. Whatever your gardening experience, read on to find flowers that will brighten your summer.
Angelonias
These vibrant, uniquely shaped blooms are more commonly known as snapdragons! With striking shades of pink, orange, yellow, peach, purple, white, red, angelonias are a great choice for any summer garden. With the right care, they can grow up to 18 inches tall and will continue flowering through the season.
Aster
The dainty, daisy-like blooms of aster will beautify your garden from late summer to early fall. So when other florals start to fade, they'll keep going! Depending on the variety, they'll sprout flower heads of blue, purple, and white and stand between one to six feet tall. They also make great pollinators and are even deer resistant.
Hibiscus
Transform your backyard garden into a tropical paradise ripe with hummingbirds and butterflies when you plant a few hibiscuses. The strikingly enormous trumpet-shaped flowers come in a range of color combinations. This plant thrives in a hot, humid climate and won't start growing until the weather is nice and warm.
Bougainvillea
Here's a beautiful climbing flower that's perfect for hanging baskets, fences, or trellises. The ornamental vines will also add a wealth of personality to any space when spilling out of large containers! The papery hot magenta and purply pink blooms love sunny areas and are quite drought tolerant.
Salvia
For fragrant foliage and pretty purple flowers that last all summer, try your hand at salvia. Also known as Mexican sage, these annuals are super low maintenance as long as they get full sun and well-drained soil. Drought or not, they'll keep growing! Note: They will thrive in your garden beds but won't do as well in containers.
Globe Amaranth
The pompom-shaped flowers of globe amaranth will add the prettiest appeal to anything from garden beds and borders to large planters. The flowers will bloom nonstop all summer until the first frost and will thrive even in the hottest weather. Its blooms come in a range of pink, purple, and white shades and are even known to attract butterflies.
Yarrow
The delicate, feathery flower clusters of yarrow will add the most elegant touch to your garden. It also comes in other colors, ranging from bold yellows and reds to soft pastels. It's especially care free and makes for wonderful ground cover or as an addition to your borders. With loads of sunlight and well-drained soil, it can even last from April to October.
Portulaca
Once you plant portulaca, the annual flowering plant will basically take care of itself! As long as you give it full sun and fertile soil, its rainbow blossoms will flourish as either ground cover or in containers. It can even survive droughts and extreme heat! The red, orange, violet, white, and pink rose-like petals will attract honeybees, too.
Morning Glory
As the name suggests, morning glories unfurl their trumpet-shaped flowers early in the morning before fading in the afternoon. The fragrant and eye-catching climbing vines like full sun and well-drained moist soil. You can find them in pink, purple-blue, magenta, or white colors that will last through the summer.
Lantana
Want butterflies and hummingbirds to call your yard home? Plant lantana! The fast-growing, flowering shrub will brighten your yard with its variety of colorful hues and pollinating properties. Place it in the ground or in a container in full sun, then watch it flourish. The cheerful flower clusters will bloom nonstop from late spring through early fall.
Sneezeweeds
For any daisy lovers out there, you'll adore the beautiful blooms of the low-maintenance sneezeweed. The perennial plant offers abundant yellow-orange flowers from late summer to fall—and will lure plenty of butterflies to your yard while also resisting disease. It just needs full sun and moist soil.
Carnations
These beautiful flowers are layers of frilly semi-double fragrant flowers. The petals, with their light pink fringe and deep red center, look gorgeous against the plant's blue-green leaves.
Calamint
Say hello to your new favorite low-maintenance plant! These clusters of tiny, pretty white flowers blush with hints of blue as time passes. They will bloom for a long time in your garden (until the first frost), so plant them where you can smell them all season long.
Catmint
Catmint is similar to hummingbird mint in its color profile, but the petals and leaves have softer, rounded edges. There's so much to love about this hardy plant—attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds, a gently spreading groundcover that can also be planted in containers, and pleasantly aromatic.
Columbine
The columbine flower (Aquilegia) is also known as Granny's bonnet... if she had the funkiest bonnet you've ever seen! Long spurs thrust out behind while large flowers face skyward. This variety is award-winning, with rosy outer petals and pretty pink inner petals.
Astible
Lush, dark foliage ranges from green to bronze, creating the perfect backdrop beneath stocks of pinky-white flowers. While these flowers normally prefer shade, they can still tolerate sun so long as they receive adequate moisture.
Garden Phlox
This variety is many gardeners' favorite variety of phlox, and for good reason. They attract hummingbirds, have a crisp purple hue, and are long-blooming. Best of all, they're great for cut flowers so you can bring the beauty to loved ones or inside your home!
Cushion Spurge
Aptly named, the cushion spurge looks like a billowy yellow cushion on the earth. These tiny flowers in the center are yellow, and the outer bracts turn yellow in early summer, then red in early fall. Native to the Mediterranean, they can take the heat well.
Zinnias
Heirloom zinnias have a wonderful mixture of vibrant, bold colors that will pop in any garden! The 6-inch bloom is covered in frilly petals and stands typically 2 feet tall, which makes it perfect for bouquets.
Marigold
Marigolds are truly stately in any variety, which is fitting for their association with royalty! The flowers, which bloom from early summer to the first frost, change color slightly as they mature. Note, though, that they need full sunlight and shouldn't be overcrowded or the blooms will be small.
Micaela Bahn is a freelance editorial assistant and recent graduate from Carleton College, where she majored in English literature. She loves running, photography, and cooking the best new recipes.
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