12 Low-Maintenance Plants for Your Summer Garden

Wax begonias are a tried-and-true staple in home landscapes. They prefer shade, but can tolerate full sun settings. These bedding plants work equally as well in-ground, in planters and hanging baskets, as long as they have well-draining soil. Use good quality potting mix or garden soil amended with organic compost for improved drainage.

Look for wax begonias in shades of red, white and pink. If you have a long growing season, trim back begonias by a third in mid-summer for a second flush of color.

You’ll find many types of begonias in the Garden Center, like tuberous begonias, angel wing and dragon wing begonias, and the beautiful Rex begonias with their bold and dramatic leaves. Once you get started with easy-growing wax begonias, you'll want to give the specialty types a try.

Gardeners love coleus for its large velvety leaves in brilliant shades of burgundy, salmon pink and lime green. The foliage is so pretty, you may have to look closer to see the flowers, but they’re there. In mid-summer, the slender stalks emerge with small purple blooms. To keep the plant's full, rounded shape, pinch back flowering stalks when they appear.

Coleus earns its low maintenance reputation because it grows happily in sun or shade. Most coleus types prefer shade or partial shade, but some varieties can take more sun. Generally, the thicker the leaf, the more sun it can handle.

Coleus is a generous plant, too. You can pinch back the stems and root these cuttings for more outside plants, or to overwinter as houseplants.

Dipladenias are non-stop bloomers for planters, garden beds and hanging baskets. Very little watering is required because they have built-in water storage in the form of tubers. Dipladenia thrive in locations with six-plus hours of sun daily but will also perform well in partial shade locations that get around four hours of sunlight.

Dipladenias are tidy plants and no deadheading is needed. Just plant and watch them bloom all summer long. Try dipladenias in a hanging basket for a change of pace. In areas with real winter, pull them indoors and overwinter for returning color next spring.

Plant gaura and watch pollinators like bees and butterflies flock to your garden. If you like, you can snip away at spent blooms to encourage new waves of petite white or pink flowers. But you don’t have to deadhead, you can just let gaura’s long stems wave in late summer breezes.

Gaura is also known as wandflower. It tolerates drought and heat and is winter hardy to zone 6, so you’ll have beautiful blooms for the bees next year, too.

Whether in planters or in garden beds, geraniums require little fuss. Their colorful flowers attract butterflies and bees.

Geraniums (also known as pelargoniums) are easy-care plants. When kept in containers, these flowers need regular watering, but not so much that would cause root rot. Let the soil dry out between watering.

With the exception of slugs in wet weather, you won’t need to worry about pests nibbling on your geraniums. Rabbits and deer don’t like them.

Shade-loving hostas doen’t need much to thrive and will grow back year after year. Plant hosta in containers or in the ground and forget about them. Every few years, you can divide hosta for additional garden plants.

Tip: If deer visit your garden, plant hostas close to your house. You may want to surround them with a preventive barrier to keep the deer away. You can also use deer spray to keep the critters away.

Lantana is a favorite sun-loving annual in most of the country. Lantana’s profuse flowers attract butterflies to the garden. It is striking as a low hedge or topiary or in mixed containers.

Some lantana varieties are perennial up to hardiness zones 8 and sometimes 7, but that all depends on the variety and your microclimate. Check plant tags for cold hardiness while selecting lantana for your garden.

Lavender is an irresistibly fragrant and attractive woody perennial in the garden. The finely cut, gray-green foliage releases a perfume when you brush against it, and the purple blooms offer color throughout the summer.

Location is everything with lavender. Give it full sun, well-draining soil and space for air to flow through its stems.

Tip: When planting lavender in containers, add coarse sand or horticultural grit to the potting mix to improve drainage and help prevent root rot.

Plant marigolds from spring to fall for bright blossoms that delight butterflies, bees and other beneficial insects. Marigolds thrive in heat, and can be pretty resilient if you miss a watering or two.

Marigolds grow easily from seed, if you want to try your hand at direct-sowing seeds. Just give them plenty of sunlight and water to get started.

You won’t have to worry about ornamental grasses in your garden in summer. Once established, they’ll look feathery and light all season long, even during dry spells. Many varieties are native to your area of the country.

Ornamental grasses add texture, depth, motion and even sound to your landscape. These versatile plants can be used anywhere in your landscaping design to add a bold feature or contrast. Look for varieties like switchgrass, Muhly grass, purple fountain grass and more in your Garden Center.

Rosemary is a robust herb that grows into a fragrant and bushy plant that only needs sunshine and well-draining soil to thrive. Rosemary works great in a hellstrip garden, or in a mailbox garden.

Be sure to give rosemary plenty of room to grow. A mature rosemary plant is at least three feet wide and tall.

Sedum is an easy-growing succulent that needs little care or attention. Plant a tile of sedum as groundcover or use it as a spiller with a planter of heat-loving flowers. Proven Winners' Lemon Coral Sedum brings a bright accent to containers and garden borders, and is winter hardy to zone 7. Popular Autumn Joy sedum is a cross between ice plant and a succulent and is perennial in zones 3 to 9.