10 Top Perennials for Summer

Known also as rudbeckia, this smiling, daisy-like flower is popular with bees and other pollinators. Besides the signature sunny yellow, black-eyed Susans come in bronze, mahogany and red with a signature black eye in the center.

These native perennials are easy to grow, performing well even in poor soil and dry conditions.They can be grown from plants, or you can start them from seeds. Plant them in the spring, though flowering may take a year.

Black-eyed Susans pair well with lavender, coneflower, catmint, sedum and more in containers and in the garden. Grow in full sun in zones 4 to 9.

Catmint thrives on neglect and survives almost anywhere in the garden, whether in sun, part sun or shade. It’s also a plant that naturally repels mosquitos. What’s not to love? With some varieties featuring blue flowers, it almost looks like lavender, but it’s not.

With never-ending blooms, this perennial explodes with showy flowers in shades of lavender, blue or pink. It’s such a treat to have catmint in the garden, but don’t overlook its gray-green foliage, which brings much to the show, too. Depending on variety, catmint can grow taller than 5 feet. Try the Greek catmint variety for height.

Catmint is not disease or pest-prone, making it a must-have for the garden. In case you’re wondering about the name, this favorite is beloved by cats too. Outdoor frolicking felines will love licking and biting the leaves, similar to another type of catmint, catnip.

Start catmint in your garden as plants, after frost danger is over, in the spring or fall.

Catmint works well with roses, coneflower, black-eyed Susan and more. Grow catmint in zones 3 to 8.

Grow dependable coneflower and you’ll enjoy an easygoing, heat-loving flower that’s a perennial must for every garden. Coneflower, known also as echinacea, is easy to grow from seed, too. It's easier, however, to add them as plants, preferably in the spring or early summer. These native plants might not flower the first year.

Colorful coneflower blooms can grow several feet tall in full sun. Coneflower makes a great companion to other flowers and plants, including ornamental grasses, catmint, coreopsis, black-eyed Susans and more.

These beauties make excellent cut flowers, and they’re guaranteed to attract bees and butterflies from summer to late fall. If you have time to deadhead the spent blooms, these flowers last until the first frost. After frost, leave the seed heads for birds to snack on all winter.

Try them in hellstrip gardens, container gardens or at the back of the garden, so their tall stems form a backdrop to smaller flowers in the foreground. Grow in full sun in zones 3 to 9.

From early summer through fall, the native gaillardia bursts with striking, vivid flowers. They’re easy to grow from seed when planted in the spring, and they germinate quickly in the garden.

Known also as blanket flower, these hardy bloomers make for a bold accent in your flower garden. Gaillardia plants can grow dozens of blooms at once. As a result, hummingbirds and butterflies flock to gaillardia.

This repeat bloomer is traditionally rust-colored with a yellow rim, though some newer varieties feature red and burgundy colors.

Just give these flowers sun and they’ll provide plenty of color until frost. Plant companions, including black-eyed Susans, sedum, coneflower, daisies and more, in containers or in your garden. Grow in full sun in zones 3 to 10.

Shade-loving heucheras (commonly called coral bells) are grown for their colorful foliage, not the sweet petite blooms they send up in spring and mid-summer. This is also the best time to plant them from pre-grown plants.

Though heucheras prefer average moisture, they’re anything but average, with foliage in peachy hues, dark purples and more. Be sure to work plenty of organic matter into the soil to give your heucheras a well-draining bed.

Pair the non-native heucheras with hostas and ferns in a shade-loving garden or with other shade-loving plants in a container. Grow heuchera as a perennial in zones 4 to 8.

These colorful plants vary in size from minis that grow to 7 inches high to giants more than 30 inches high.

Hardy hostas look beautiful in gardens due to variations in leaf texture and color, everything from shamrock and lime green to blues accented with white or yellow.

Get hostas for any shady area in your garden. Hosta leaves have a natural waxy coating that will melt in direct sun, so plant them in shade to ensure they keep their color.

Hostas will need lots of water, especially after first planting, until they become established. It's best to plant them from potted plants, and spring to fall are the ideal times of year.

Pair the non-native hosta with heuchera and other shade lovers. Grow hosta in zones 3 to 9 and year-round in Florida.

Plant a colorful garden or container garden with hydrangeas. These carefree perennial shrubs send out big, beautiful blossoms in summer. Think pops of pink, blue, lavender and snowy-white in the landscape. Sometimes there are that many colors on the same shrub.

Hydrangeas don’t attract deer, making them an easy choice for any garden. Just give hydrangeas morning sun and afternoon shade, especially in warmer climates, for a total of four to six hours a day.

Try growing re-blooming hydrangeas for zones 4 to 9.

Plant hydrangeas in the fall or maybe early spring. These non-native plants need to be added as plants, not seeds.

If you’re growing hydrangeas in large containers, choose spilling sweet potato vine as a companion. In the garden, pair hydrangeas with shady partners, including hosta and heuchera.

This low-maintenance, woody perennial tolerates dry conditions and loves the heat. Bees love it, but deer and rabbits tend to skip it. Lavender blooms add perfume to the entire garden and can be used to flavor dishes.

Grow in full sun in zones 5 to 10 in containers or in a garden with well-draining alkaline soil. Not native to the U.S., lavender does well when planted in the spring or early summer, but early fall is fine for warmer zones. They should be planted as full plants. Learn more about growing and using lavender.

True lilies are from the genus Lilium. They are a hardy, rugged type of flower, and they come in a variety of beautiful colors and shapes. Stargazers are known for having an upright, sky-facing flower. Tiger Lilies are another showy lily, bright orange with dark, freckled spots. Turk’s Cap Lilies are also orange, but they are particularly striking because they grow anywhere from 4 – 10 feet tall.

Besides these popular favorites, there are dozens of other varieties of true lilies to choose from.

Another type, daylilies, are from the genus Hemerocallis. Unlike true lilies, which grow from bulbs, daylilies start out as tuberous roots. They store extra water, making them extremely drought-tolerant.

Both true lilies and daylilies bloom in late spring to early summer, and they’re both non-native perennials. Plant lilies in full to partial sun. Water to establish, then as needed.

Lilies pair well with ornamental grasses, but they’re so beautiful, you may want to just keep clusters by themselves in the garden. While lily bulbs or roots can be planted in spring for summer blooms, you can also find lily plants in season.

Lilies grow best in zones 4 to 8.

The beauty of these perennial shrubs can make you forget their diva-like nature. Roses do need pruning and regular insecticidal soap treatments. But the rewards far exceed the effort.

Discover the types of roses to choose for your garden, including those that grow well in containers in small-space gardens. Some are native to North America, while many are not. Find out more about caring for roses.

Grow roses from roots or potted plants in the spring or fall. If you’re growing roses in containers or in a garden, pair them with catmint, daisies, lavender, verbena, lantana and more. Roses can be grown in zones 5 to 9.