Summer gardens can benefit from well-planned perennial plants and long-time favorites like roses and hydrangeas, but they aren’t your only selections.
We’ve enlisted the help of our garden experts to come up with a few additional options, which include:
- Hydrangeas
- Potentilla
- Carolina Allspice
- Summersweet
- Rose of Sharon
Read our article to find out 5 more species!
Mike Miller from Wilderness Times
Hydrangeas
Want to make your pink hydrangea blue? Simply add aluminum to the soil! Changing colors the other way around is more complex but can still be achieved by raising the soil’s pH level.
But keep in mind that these shrubs love the morning sun yet have to be in the shade during the hottest part of the day. So keep that in mind when choosing a place for this beauty.
And, they need plenty of water! During extremely hot days, they might need to be watered twice a day. You can add mulch underneath to keep the soil moist for longer.
Natalie Alleblas from theluckyantler.com
Potentilla
Potentilla, also known as Cinquefoil, five fingers or silverweed, is an easy-to-grow summer shrub with yellow, orange, red, or white flowers that bloom from late spring until autumn. Its leaves are shiny, dark green, and you may notice a spiced scent.
Potentilla can be grown in a pot but do best when planted in the ground. The shrub blooms better after the first year, and its flowers attract pollinators such as butterflies and bees.
While Potentilla can tolerate most soil types, including clay, and grows well in drought conditions, it prefers moist, well-drained soil.
Potentilla grows best in full sun, but shade during the hottest part of the day will help it bloom longer.
September is the best time to prune Potentilla, and you can prune it close to the ground as it will grow back again. It can grow up to 3 feet tall.
If you leave the shrub in the winter, it looks like a mass of tumbleweeds, so pruning is preferred.
Heather Yan from Learn Planting
Carolina Allspice
This shrub’s small red flowers might not be very flashy, but the pungent, spicy smell they spread through your garden announces this bush just fine.
Able to grow up to 8ft tall and suitable for zones 5-9, Carolina Allspice is an excellent addition to an otherwise mildly scented garden.
Summersweet
At up to 9 ft tall and filled with bright pink and white flowers, it’s hard to miss a healthy blooming summersweet bush.
They offer lovely perfume in addition to beautiful small blooms. The foliage on this plant is attractive in the autumn as well, turning a bright golden color. Suitable for zones 3-9.
Rose of Sharon
This beautiful bright pink variety of hibiscus offers large show-stopping blooms summer through autumn.
Plus, every part of this plant is edible, and you can even make your hibiscus tea at home!
Jeremy Yamaguchi from Lawn Love
Butterfly bushes
Butterfly bushes are a fantastic choice for any garden. As you would expect, they attract lots of butterflies. They’re also very fragrant and come in a wide variety of colors.
They’ll bloom into the fall but so have the issue of spreading around your garden and growing where you don’t want them. For this reason, you’ll need to keep bushes well-pruned and remove dying flower clusters.
Butterfly bushes need lots of sun. You want them in full exposure. Soil should be moist but not soaking. You’ll tell if they aren’t getting enough water because the leaves will be dry and different from normal.
Tony Grenier from instrumentalglobal.com
Cape jasmine
Grow Cape jasmine (Gardenia jasminoides) and enjoy the fragrant smell of its blooms during summertime.
This plant is a fan-favorite for many gardeners as it produces big, beautiful white flowers that are quite fragrant. The flowers look lovely against the dark green leaves contrast.
It cannot tolerate freezing temperatures, so I suggest planting it in pots so when winter comes, you can just move the plant indoors during the winter season. It is also a low-maintenance plant as it can thrive and bloom in the full or partial shade of light.
In the summer, ensure that the soil where this is planted is moist and well-drained to bloom quickly. Remember, a happy flower will bloom beautiful flowers.
Eileen Martin from Style for my House
Coleus
Coleus is an excellent plant for summer and a perfect plant for people who want to get into more gardening but don’t want something that requires a lot of special care.
A simple Google image search of “coleus” will return many different kinds of coleus, with different colors and textures.
Essentially, Coleus can be grown just about anywhere, provided it has proper sunlight and water.
However, Coleus does get rather large, around 3 to 4 feet high and 3 to 4 feet wide, so adequate placement regarding your home and other plants is essential.
Nadia Charif from Coffeeble
Bluebeard
Its bright flowers appear in late summer and can brighten up your garden. It can be used around the border or can be lumped together as well.
They are pretty hardy and respond well to well-drained soil and regular watering.
Oleander
Oleander is another easy-to-maintain shrub I adore. It is such an easy-to-maintain shrub that it is often grown on the sides of roads and requires minimal effort for a lot of beauty.
With flowers in shades of pink, purple and red, it should be noted that these flowers can be poisonous. Make sure you are keeping in bright sunlight and should be regularly watered.
Conclusion
There’s always a summer-flowering shrub for every situation, including sun, shade, wet, and dry. So choose your favorites and get started on your summer garden right now!
