It's Gardening Time! Arrange a Beautiful Garden With These Summer Flower Options
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Believe it or not, flowers don't just boost your mood and brighten up your home — they're capable of improving your health as well, according to Gwenn Fried, manager of Horticulture Therapy at NYU Langone’s Rusk Rehabilitation. "Nature has a huge impact on health and wellness," she says. "We know that people's cortisol levels go down in a calm, green environment."
Browse our roundup of summer flowers to transform your garden into a dreamy space, whether it's your backyard area, small balcony or front porch. You'll find everything from lovely zinnias to charming sunflowers. Go for tall varieties like delphiniums or consider eye-catching perennial flowers (think cosmos, asters and daisies). Need good ground covers for shady spots such as in between tree roots? Some of our top picks include salvias and portulacas. For containers, there are coneflowers, Lily of the Nile and much more. Our list includes simple care tips, from watering and sunlight needs to the best soil conditions.
Go ahead and find your favorites below, but also be sure to check out our gardening guide for even more ideas. And whether you're a pro or beginner, it's worth exploring the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone to confirm that your selections suit your location. Now all that's left to do is grab your gardening tools to get started!
Delphiniums
This striking perennial enjoys full or partial sun, along with well-drained soil. With more than 300 varieties of the flower, some of which can grow up to 6 feet tall, you can choose from pretty shades of blue, purple, white and pink.
Coreopsis
Bring on the cheer with coreopsis, which favor consistent watering and well-drained, fertile soil. Place them in containers or beds and give them full sun or light shade. They tend to attract pollinators, like bees, too.
Globe Amaranth
Brighten any garden with this bold annual that you can find in a range of shades, from purple to white. Native to Central America, the globe-shaped flowers add visual appeal to garden beds, borders and even containers. They like full sun and a regular watering schedule.
Lantana
This hardy plant prefers full sun and water on a weekly basis once it's mature. You'll find them in a variety of colorful hues, including pink, yellow, red and orange.
Morning Glories
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Part of the Convolvulaceae family, morning glories are climbing vines that like full sun and moist soil that's well drained. Look no further than their bright, bold flowers to boost your garden's visual appeal.
Portulaca
With full sun and fertile soil that's well-drained (only water it when the soil is dry), this plant will flourish in your garden. They make beautiful ground covers and they're also suitable for containers. Pests don't tend to bother portulacas, but keep in mind that they're toxic to some pets, including cats and dogs.
Alliums
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Add a pop of color to your garden with this drought-tolerant flower. You'll find them in pretty shades of purple and white, making them a perfect addition to fresh bouquets. Aim for well-drained soil and full sun with this pick.
Sneezeweed
If you love daisies, look no further than sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) to add a unique touch to your garden. To keep them looking their best, give this low-maintenance pick full sun and moist soil (moderate watering is ideal). They're known for luring butterflies and resisting disease. Keep in mind that they're toxic to humans and animals.
Calamint
Also known as Calamintha nepeta, calamint is perfect for those seeking an easy-to-care-for option. The fragrant plant enjoys light watering as well as full sun (if necessary, it can handle light shade as well).
Geraniums
Hang them in baskets or arrange them in beds or pots, and take in their beauty. Rely on fertile soil that's well-drained (don't overwater them) and full sun. This hardy option is also great at keeping diseases and pests at bay.
Dahlias
Grow the "dinnerplate" kind and the blooms can measure a whopping 12 inches in diameter. On the flipside, miniature "pom-pom" dahlias look just as cute as they sound.
Bacopas
This bacopa monnieri plant, also known as brahmi, is incredibly versatile — just take a look at its impressive edible properties and medicinal purposes. You'll find the jewel-like flowers in white, blue and lavender. And if you're hunting for a good container garden option, bacopas are gorgeous picks.
Asters
Here's a fast-growing perennial that prefers full sun or light shade. These blooms are native to North America and come in white, purple, blue or pink shades. Keep your asters happy with loamy, well-drained soil.
Bougainvilleas
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Bougainvilleas are lively tropical vines that add personality to a garden. They love sunny areas and well-drained soil. Grow them in hanging baskets or train them to be bushy additions to your pots.
Angelonias
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These striking lavender and pink flowers, also called snapdragons, are beautiful choices for a sunny garden. Treat them well and watch them grow up to 18 inches tall. Even better, they don't require deadheading to produce their blooms continuously.
Clematis
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Clematis are popular for filling vertical space in a garden. They thrive with at least six hours of full sun per day, but keep in mind that pruning varies by type.
Salvias
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These sun-loving plants come in a wide range of colors, from red to purple, and don't require much fertilizer to grow beautifully.
Marigolds
You may know them as vibrant yellow or orange beauties, but marigolds can also bloom with maroon or even cream flowers. "Best grown in full sun, marigolds are known for outlasting hot summer days and have been long used as garden companion plants," Henriksen says.
RELATED: How to Grow French Marigolds Like a Champ
Common Zinnias
"A traditional plant for pollinator gardens, zinnias are easy to grow and require full sun," Henriksen says. She recommends them for borders and container gardens, and using the cut flowers for indoor decor. They can grow anywhere from 4 inches to 4 feet high and come in almost every color except for blue.
RELATED: How to Grow Bright, Beautiful Zinnias
Sunflowers
Not all Helianthus are created equal. In summer, try SunBelievable Brown Eyed Girl. "This award-winning, multi-branching, heat tolerant and non-invasive annual produces over 1,000 flowers in a single season, throughout summer until first frost," Karam says. Try it in both borders and containers.
RELATED: The Best Way to Grow Beautiful Sunflowers
Peonies
These puffballs signal the beginning of summer each year. Some bushes can thrive for a half-century or more!
Yarrows
Leave it to these dainty flowers to add a dose of elegance to your garden. While they can thrive under a bit of shade, they do best with loads of sunlight and well-drained soil.
Foxgloves
If you're looking for a statement flower to add to your garden, consider foxgloves, which can easily reach up to six feet. They bloom early on in the summer and come in a slew of colors, ranging from pink to white.
Carnations
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A symbol of love and distinction, carnations are known for their bold hues and impressive range of varieties. Certain carnations can grow up to 24 inches, while others range between 9 to 12 inches.
Hibiscus Flowers
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You can find these vibrant, trumpet-shaped blooms in a range of color combinations. Known to attract hummingbirds and butterflies, these flowers need tons of water and fertilizer during their blooming phase.
Gladiolus
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This popular summer flower needs well-drained soil, a moderate amount of moisture and an abundance of sunlight to flourish. Keep in mind that wind can harm certain tall varieties.
Begonias
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When it comes to begonias, you can find more than 1,000 different types in an array of colors, shapes and sizes. They like soil that's moist (rather than soaking wet), humidity and partial shade.
Lily of the Nile
Also called blue lily or African lily, Agapanthus praecox is a full sun or partial shade flower that thrives in warmer areas, especially in pots. "When it comes to containers and hanging baskets that are showing signs of stress, the best thing you can do is to move them into the shade and check often for dryness," advises Kate Karam, editorial director at Monrovia. "They may need a deep drink at least once or even twice a day."
Garden Cosmos
This full-sun perennial grows to 2 to 5 feet high with blooms in crimson, pink and white. Like the Cleome hassleriana, Cosmos bipinnatus is easy to grow from seeds and often self-sows. However, it cannot tolerate rich soil and will yield fewer flowers.
RELATED: 10 Easy Soil Tests That Pinpoint Your Garden's Problems
California Poppies
Eschscholzia californica grows from 6 to 15 inches and comes in red, pink, orange, yellow and cream. This full-sun perennial grows best if directly sown as it doesn't tolerate transplanting well. It also doesn't thrive in rich or wet soil. Deadhead periodically for continuous blooming all season long.
Creeping Zinnia
Sanvitalia procumbens is another short perennial that only grows 4 to 8 inches high. You can find it in orange or bright yellow. It can perform well in partial shade, but does not tolerate poorly drained soil.
Coneflowers
This favorite of birds and butterflies has a lot of human fans, too. "We love coneflowers for their ease of care and their great cutting garden potential," Karam says. "The Fiesta variety provides a riot of color with spicy coral-pink flowers that age to softer shades. Try them in containers or borders."
RELATED: How to Grow Gorgeous Echinacea in Your Garden
Daylilies
The botanical name Hemerocallis means "beauty for a day," but many gardeners call daylilies "the perfect perennial." The multi-flowered stems (called scapes) grow in all soil types, with very little care required.
RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About Container Gardening
Blanket Flowers
Gaillardias look like miniature sunsets, fading between yellow, orange, red and sometimes burgundy. They love bright rays, so don't hide them in the shade.
Hydrangeas
From late spring to early autumn, hydrangeas can steal the show in your garden. Try the Blue Enchantress variety for striking ruby-black stems and big mophead flowers, Karam recommends. The border shrub flowers blue in acidic soils and pink in alkaline soils. "The flowers age to a vintage cream-splashed green color," she adds.
Catmint
Related to catnip but much showier, the ornamental version sprouts lavender-colored flowers with silvery-green foliage.
RELATED: 26 Plants You Should Always Grow Side-By-Side
Black-Eyed Susans
They grow as wildflowers but Rudbeckia hirtas spruce up low-maintenance landscapes as well. "This sunflower-like plant prefers full sun, can grow over 3 feet tall and even attracts birds and butterflies," Henriksen says
RELATED: A Quick Guide to Growing Stunning Black-Eyed Susans
Daisies
Daisies represent innocence, but the perennials work much harder than their dreamy meaning lets on. Mounds of tall stems bloom for months on end, and rarely fail to reappear the next spring.
Lavender
Plant this fragrant herb in full sun and well-drained soil, Henriksen advises. Bonus: Lavender will attract birds and butterflies, and it's easy to make into potpourri when dried.
RELATED: How to Grow Lavender Anywhere — Even Indoors
Anthuriums
Also known as the flamingo flower due to their tropical flair, an anthurium can flourish with bright, indirect light and a watering schedule of one to two weeks. Keep in mind that they're toxic to humans and pets, and grow best away from dry air.
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