The 5 Best Summer Flowers to Plant

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 There is no better way to highlight your yard and bring comfort to your home than to plant a vibrant flower garden in the summer. Colorful summer flowers are sure to brighten up your day even on sweltering hot afternoons or during summer thunderstorms. With thousands of different varieties of flowers, how do you know which are the best to plant for a fragrant and colorful garden?

The first step is to know the difference between annual and perennial flowers. Annuals are planted and bloom in the spring and sometimes last through fall. These flowers need to be planted annually, and unless you dig up the bulbs or roots and plant them in indoor pots, you will have to purchase new flowers for your garden and plant them every year. Annuals tend to have bright, bold colors, are especially fragrant, and allow for you to change the look of your garden summer after summer.

Perennials return year after year due to seed droppings or bulbs that go dormant in the winter and produce in the spring. Perennials are adept at handling cold weather, frozen grounds, and frosts while annuals will be killed in extremely cold weather conditions. Perennials are also known for spreading throughout your garden space on their own, which enables transplanting to other areas of your property or allows you to give cuttings away to friends and family so they can start their own gardens. Need more specific recommendations on the various flower seeds you can plant to make a beautiful summer garden? Here are the five best summer flowers to plant:

  1.       Black-Eyed Susan

These flowers, also known as Gloriosa daisies, are usually bright yellow with brown, fuzzy centers. They can be grown in almost any climate and can be annual or perennial depending on your location and climate. These flowers often grow wild in many parts of the United States and can be seen frequently in open meadows and prairies.

They are especially fragrant and attract butterflies and birds, including hummingbirds. Growing up to 3.5 feet tall and being drought-tolerant, these are the perfect summer flower to plant in any garden.

  1.       Marigolds

Once planted, marigolds grow and spread quickly, adaptable to most soil conditions and producing more blooms in the low-quality soil. If you are a gardener who wants a no-fuss flower in your yard, marigolds are perfect for you. They also do well in hot climates where they can get full sun. It is not recommended for these flowers to be shaded more than 20% of the time. They also need regular moisture, but the gardeners should pay attention not to let the soil get soggy.

  1.       Lilies

There are many different varieties of lilies. They are perennial flowers that can be transplanted very easily once grown. These flowers are resilient and don’t need the original bulb to be able to come back year after year if transplanted. If you are starting your plants from bulbs, though, the bulbs should be placed in the ground in late summer or early fall. Lilies have large, colorful blooms, are fragrant, and reach up to 3 feet in height. Many varieties of lilies are poisonous if consumed, so make sure to keep children and pets away.

  1.       Gaillardia

Also called blanket flowers, these bright-red, yellow, and orange flowers bloom with bicolored petals and are ideal for intense heat. They spread quickly and can easily blanket an entire meadow. Blanket flowers are a perennial sunflower variety and will attract butterflies to your garden.

  1.       Peonies

These plants have very large flowers and an intoxicating scent that is strong and lasting. They can live over 100 years if cared for properly and are adept to survive in climates that are not temperate. They are perennials and prefer to be left undisturbed, requiring little maintenance.

Wrapping Up

While there are many other summer flowers and varieties that you may think are beautiful, asking your local gardening centers about the soil and climate needs of your favorite flowers will be a good place to start before planting your summer garden.

About Author

Shiloh Star

Notorious M.O.M, writer, and blogger by day…. Just kidding, there is no “by night” punchline here. I am your basic every-day-run-of-the-mill mama. We love to be outdoors as much as possible, we love to leave as small a footprint as we can. We live “green” and shop locally. We love organic everything and locally sourced food when possible, but that isn’t to say we won’t run out for a local cheeseburger when the craving hits! We are a beautiful blend of generations in our little family – from GenX to Millennial, to whatever they are calling the new, youngest generation. We co-sleep, we co-parent, we breastfeed, and we even co-clean-up-poop. So – that is what I write about! XOXO - Shiloh

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Stacie @ Divine Lifestyle

Those are such beautiful blooms! I set out tons of plants when the weather warms up. They make the house so pretty.

Jennifer Van Huss
Jennifer Van Huss
7 years ago

Marigolds are the only flowers from this list that I don’t have in my garden! I always forget about them, but LOVE the colours! I need to get some!

Cherri Megasko
7 years ago

I love gaillardias. I first noticed them when I took a tour to a small island off the coast of NC. They were growing in the sand and unbelievable heat. And they were absolutely gorgeous.

Jeni
7 years ago

Lilies are one of the simplest, most beautiful flowers. They are so gorgeous. This is a great list for people who might not even realize that some flowers do better when you start growing them at certain times of the year.

Joely Smith
7 years ago

I am always forgetting the difference between annuals and perennials!
I do love flowers but I am researching the best non-toxic flowers to plant to protect animals. I plan to eventually do a blog post on that.
I would love it if you did one instead haha.
That is a major concern to me.
I find so many flowers are toxic to pets and wildlife.

Carol Cassara
7 years ago

I’m not exactly good with gardening but I love to at least give it a try. I didn’t know about these flowers and it was nice learning about them! I really appreciate this post!

chubskulit rose
7 years ago

I love marigolds because they are low maintenance, they are gorgeous and vibrant, and deer does not like it. It’s great to plant in borders and pots.

Rose Cottrill
7 years ago

I love marigolds because they are low maintenance, they are gorgeous and vibrant, and deer does not like it. It’s great to plant in borders and pots.

sara
sara
7 years ago

Thank you for sharing these summer flowers with me. I was wondering what I should plant in my new garden.

Dogvills
7 years ago

I love flowers. If only I had the space for a garden, it will be filled with lovely blooms.

Kate | Highlights Along The Way

Love these tips!! Summer flowers are just to adorable! I can’t wait to see all these in my backyard!

uprunforlife
7 years ago

It has been so long since I have planted some flowers. I always kept a flower bed until my back got so bad that it was hard to get out to plant stuff. We don’t have a place to plant flowers at the moment but marigolds and pansies were always my favorites to plant.

Tatanisha Worthey
7 years ago

These are such a great choices. They would make a lovely table arrangement.

Angela Ricardo Bethea
7 years ago

I love these round up of flowers … most especially because Peonies is included – my favorite!

kim
kim
7 years ago

This is such a great guide!! My family always plants marigolds in the summer.

Leigh Anne Borders
Leigh Anne Borders
7 years ago

Peonies are some of my favorites. I love how big they are and the colors they come in. I need to plant some in my yard.

Gabriel Bregg
Gabriel Bregg
7 years ago

Marigolds are also great near gardens because they help discourage a lot of garden raiding pests.

Misty Nelson
7 years ago

Peonies are my absolute favorite! I just love them so much and look forward to seeing ours bloom every year. Lillies too, they are so pretty and you are right, not very difficult to grow. The key is watering regularly and not putting them in too much direct sunlight.

Misty Nelson
7 years ago

I love peonies! They are so beautiful in your garden and inside your home. Marigolds and lillies are another favorite.

John Pit
6 years ago

Nice post ! These summer flowers are the best. Thanks for sharing this post.