Add non-stop color to your landscape with these standout plants.
Summer gardens are meant to shine—and the secret to keeping your landscape vibrant all season long is choosing plants that just don’t quit. Whether you’re planting containers, beds, or borders, these summer stars offer extended bloom times, vibrant color, and reliable performance, even in the heat.
🌼 Top-Performing Annuals for Continuous Color
Annuals are the marathon runners of summer—they bloom hard and fast from planting to frost. Here are some favorites we love:
Supertunias (Petunias)
These heat-loving, self-cleaning bloomers come in a range of vivid colors and don’t need deadheading. Perfect for hanging baskets, containers, or front-of-the-border plantings.
Lantana
A pollinator favorite, lantana thrives in heat and sun. Its clusters of small, bright blooms attract butterflies and bloom endlessly with minimal care.
Calibrachoa (Million Bells)
These mini-petunia lookalikes are compact, trailing, and covered in blooms all summer. Great in containers and hanging baskets.
Zinnias
Easy to grow and tough in the heat, zinnias are a staple for cutting gardens and mixed borders. Look for Profusion or Zahara series for disease resistance and repeat blooming.
🌸 Perennials That Keep the Show Going
While many perennials bloom for a few weeks, some varieties offer extended or repeat blooms with the right care:
Coreopsis
Also known as tickseed, these sunny yellow or pink flowers bloom for weeks and attract pollinators. Deadheading encourages even more flowers.
Catmint (Nepeta)
Low-maintenance and drought-tolerant, catmint delivers soft lavender-blue blooms from early summer to fall—and it thrives in tough spots.
Coneflowers (Echinacea)
These iconic native perennials bloom from midsummer through fall, offering bold color and great seedheads for birds.
Salvia
Heat- and drought-tolerant, salvias like ‘May Night’ or ‘Mystic Spires’ bloom for months and bring pollinators flocking.
Daylilies
While each bloom lasts just one day, modern reblooming varieties like ‘Stella de Oro’ can flower repeatedly with light care and deadheading.
🌺 Flowering Shrubs with Lasting Impact
Don’t forget to anchor your garden with shrubs that provide a long season of bloom and structure:
Hydrangeas (especially Panicle and Endless Summer types)
These bloom from midsummer into fall. Panicle varieties like ‘Limelight’ are especially dependable and great for sun. Endless Summer hydrangeas rebloom with the right care.
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia)
A magnet for pollinators, butterfly bush produces long, fragrant flower spikes throughout the summer. Choose compact varieties for easier maintenance.
Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus)
This late-summer bloomer brings big, tropical-style flowers just when other plants are fading. It’s heat-tolerant and deer-resistant.
Knock Out Roses
Known for their disease resistance and continuous blooms, these shrub roses offer reliable color from spring through frost.
Keep the Color Coming
To get the most from your summer stars:
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Deadhead regularly (for perennials and some annuals)
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Feed mid-season with a balanced fertilizer to support extended blooming
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Water consistently, especially during dry spells
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Add mulch to retain moisture and reduce heat stress
Looking to brighten your garden with season-long color? Stop by Hampton Nursery for expert plant recommendations, beautiful selections, and all the tools you need to keep your garden blooming strong.
