Spring isn’t the only time of year for bright, colorful flowers! Summer blooming plants are a vibrant way to rejuvenate your landscape during the hottest months of the year. In this guide, we’ll explore the best flowering shrubs and perennials for summer, share how to keep them thriving, and help you choose the right varieties for your yard.
Why Choose Summer Blooming Plants?
Summer blooming shrubs and perennials are a vital component in creating a vibrant and resilient landscape. Here’s why these flowering plants are a must-have for your yard this summer:
- Long-lasting color: When spring blooms fade, summer blooming plants take center stage. Providing weeks (or even months) of vibrant, eye-catching color. With a mix of early, mid, and late-summer bloomers, you’ll be set all summer long!
- Supports essential pollinators: Many summer bloomers like lavender, coneflowers, and butterfly bush are rich in nectar and pollen. Therefore, offering a vital food source for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
- Low-maintenance & drought-tolerant: Many summer perennials and shrubs are heat and drought-resistant, making them an ideal choice for low-maintenance landscape installations that will still look lush and healthy all summer long.
Which Summer Blooming Plant Is Best for You?
Whether you’re drawn to bold blooms, fragrant flowers, or drought-tolerant varieties, there’s a perennial or shrub that’s perfect for your landscaping goals. The key is to match the plant’s characteristics that fit with your landscaping needs, garden style, and maintenance preferences. Choose your favorites and enjoy a garden or yard that shines all summer long!
Summer Plant Chart
| Goal or Preference | Recommended Plants | Notes |
| Bold, vibrant color | Butterfly Bush, Rose of Sharon, Endless Summer Hydrangea, Black-eyed Susan, Coneflower | Great for curb appeal, focal points, and borders |
| Low maintenance/ drought-tolerant | Lavender, Coneflowers, Allium | Thrive in dry soil and hot weather; low water needs |
| Pollinator-friendly | Salvia, Coneflower, Clethra, Butterfly Bush, Lavender | Attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds |
| Long blooming season | Shrub Roses, Weigela, Daylilies, Shasta Daisy | Many re-bloom through summer into fall |
| Full sun areas | Lavender, Allium, Daylilies, Black-eyed Susan | Require 6+ hours of sun daily |
| Partial shade or moisture-loving | Hydrangea, Clethra, Spirea, Shasta Daisy | Ideal for part-shade areas or damp soil |
| Structural or vertical interest | Rose of Sharon, Butterfly Bush, Allium | Adds height and shape to landscape design |
| Great for mass planting or borders | Shasta Daisy, Black-eyed Susan | Ideal for filling large areas or edging beds |
| Fragrance-focused | Lavender, Clethra, Shrub Roses | Adds beautiful scents to seating areas or entryways |
Our Favorite Summer Blooming Shrubs
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia)
A pollinator’s favorite! The butterfly bush, sports long, fragrant, cone-shaped flower clusters that bloom from early summer through the fall. This summer blooming shrub attracts butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds alike.
Clethra (Summersweet)
This fragrant flowering shrub produces clusters of white or pink blooms from mid to late summer. It’s ideal for moist or shady areas and attracts pollinators with its sweet scent.
Cinquefoils (Potentilla)
This hardy shrub is a member of the rose family and blooms from early summer through the fall. They come in a variety of colors including yellow, white, pink & orange. Cinquefoils are a reliable option for low-maintenance landscape installations.
Endless Summer Hydrangea
Unlike traditional hydrangeas, this flowering plant blooms on both old wood (growth from the previous year) and new wood, offering lush, colorful, longlisting, blooms from early summer into fall. Its large head of flowers also change color based on what your soil’s ph levels are.
Rose of Sharon
This late-blooming shrub adds a tropical atmosphere to your landscaping, with its hibiscus-like flowers in pink, purple, or white. It is heat-tolerant and perfect to use as hedging or as a backyard focal point.
Shrub Roses
These flowers appear to be delicate but are extremely hardy! Modern shrub roses are disease-resistant and repeat bloomers. From June through frost, they provide waves of color and sweet fragrance.
Spirea
Compact and low-maintenance, spirea offer clusters of pink or white flowers in early to mid-summer. Some varieties even bloom again in the fall, perfect for long-lasting greenery.
Weigela
This gorgeous shrub produces bright pink or red trumpet-shaped flowers in the late spring and will re-bloom in the summer! Most weigelas are deer resistant but attract hummingbirds and butterflies.
Our Favorite Summer Blooming Perennials
Allium (Summer Varieties)
While many alliums bloom in spring, some varieties extend into early summer. These eye-catching pom-pom-like blooms on a strong stem, come in shades of purple and white. They are also deer and rabbit resistant.
Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia)
With golden petals and dark centers, these bright perennials flower from mid to late summer and are a magnet for bees and butterflies. They are drought-tolerant and perfect for attracting pollinators.
Coneflowers (Echinacea)
Coneflowers bloom from mid-summer into the fall and add structure and color to any yard or garden. They have daisy-like petals but a cone shaped center. Coneflowers are drought-tolerant and attract pollinators later into the year while other flowers may be hard to come by.
Shasta Daisies
This cheerful perennial, features white petals with golden centers and blooms from early to late summer. They brighten up any landscape installation.
Daylilies
Known for their reliability and variety, daylilies bloom in waves from early to late summer. They come in almost every color and are easy to grow in various conditions.
Lavender
These fragrant, purple flowers begin blooming in early to mid-summer. Lavender is a favorite for bees and butterflies. It thrives in sunny, well-drained areas and adds both color and a fresh scent to any landscape!
Salvia
This low maintenance, deer resistant flower, blooms all throughout the summer. It comes in colors of purple, blue, red, pink, coral, and white. This sun-loving plant is loved by bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Tips to Keep Summer Blooming Plants Thriving All Season
Once you’ve selected the perfect flowering shrubs and perennials for your landscape, it’s important to give them the right care to ensure continuous blooms and healthy growth all summer long. Here’s how to keep your summer blooming plants looking their best:
The Right Spot
- Sunlight matters: Most summer bloomers thrive in full sun (6+ hours a day). Make sure your plant is in a location best suited for its light requirements.
- Know your plant: Some perennials like clethra or hydrangeas can tolerate partial shade, but others; like lavender and daylilies, need full sun to flourish.
Water Wisely
- Water deeply, not frequently: Give plants a deep soak 1–2 times per week, especially during dry spells. This encourages deep root growth!
- Avoid overhead watering: Water at the base to prevent fungal diseases and leaf burn, particularly on shrubs like roses.
Mulching
- Apply a 2–3-inch layer of mulch around the base of plants to:
- Keep soil moist
- Keep roots cool
- Keep away weeds
- Add nutrients to the soil as the mulch decomposes.
Cut Off What’s Dead
- Deadheading or removing faded and dry flower heads, encourages many perennials and shrubs to rebloom.
- Use clean pruning shears and snip just above a leaf or side bud.
Feed with Fertilizer
- Use a balanced and slow-releasing fertilizer early in the summer to promote strong blooms and healthy growth.
- For repeat bloomers like spirea, weigela, and daylilies, a mid-summer feeding can encourage extended flowering.
Divide and Conqueror
- If perennials start to look overcrowded or stop blooming as steadily, you may need to divide them in early fall or the following spring.
- Thinning out shrubs helps improve airflow and reduces the risk of disease.
Pesky Pests and Diseases
- Keep an eye out for aphids, Japanese beetles, and powdery mildew. All common problems for summer plants.
- Treat as early as possible with neem oil or by planting other plants nearby that can wield off these pests.
- Catnip, chives, and garlic can help deter aphids, white geraniums or marigolds can help deter Japanese beetles. Dill and fennel can attract beneficial insects like ladybugs and lacewings that prey on aphids.
Add extra beauty to your yard this Summer with J & J Landscaping
We design our custom landscapes to include year-round color, not just in the Spring. Incorporating summer-blooming plants into your landscaping ensures color, life, and ecological support throughout the hottest months of the year. They’re more than just pretty—they’re purposeful, reliable, and a joy to grow.
Ready to bring your landscape to life? Contact J & J Landscaping today for a free estimate!
