Want a garden that stays vibrant all season? The secret lies in choosing the right perennials—plants that return year after year and bloom for months.
Here are 10 stunning perennials to keep your garden bursting with color and buzzing with pollinators from spring to fall.
1. Ice Plant (Delosperma cooperi)
Ice plants are known for their bright, colorful flowers that can range from pink to yellow. They bloom from spring to fall, creating a cheerful display in your garden.
Care Tips: They thrive in well-drained soil and full sun. These plants are drought-tolerant, so they don’t need a lot of water once established. Just be careful not to overwater them.
2. Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
These are popular daisy-like flowers with a central cone that can be orange, brown, or green. They bloom from summer to early fall, attracting butterflies and bees.
Care Tips: These flowers prefer sunny spots and can handle poor soil. They are drought-resistant but do enjoy some water during dry spells. Deadheading (removing spent flowers) can help them bloom longer.
3. Salvia (Salvia nemorosa)
They produce spikes of small flowers that come in colors like purple, blue, and pink. They bloom from late spring to fall, adding vertical interest to your garden.
Care Tips: They like well-drained soil and full sun. Salvia is also drought-tolerant, making it easy to care for. You can trim them back after the first bloom to encourage more flowers.
4. Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata)
With clusters of colorful flowers in shades of pink, red, white, and purple, they bloom in mid-summer and can last until fall, providing a lovely scent in your garden.
Care Tips: These plants prefer rich, moist soil and partial to full sun. Regular watering will keep them blooming well. Make sure to remove any spent flowers to promote new blooms.
5. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Yarrow features flat clusters of tiny flowers that come in colors like yellow, pink, and white. They bloom from late spring to early fall and are great for attracting pollinators.
Yarrow does well in poor, well-drained soil and full sun. It’s drought-resistant and requires little maintenance. Cutting back the flowers can lead to a second bloom later in the season.
6. Stella de Oro Daylily (Hemerocallis ‘Stella de Oro’)
These plants produce beautiful, golden-yellow flowers and bloom from late spring to early fall. They bring bright colors to your garden throughout the summer.
Care Tips: These daylilies thrive in well-drained soil and full sun, but they can also tolerate some shade. They are easy to care for and are drought-tolerant once established. Just remove spent flowers to encourage more blooms.
7. Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Black-eyed Susans are known for their cheerful yellow petals and dark centers. They bloom from mid-summer to fall, adding a sunny look to your garden and attracting butterflies.
Care Tips: These flowers prefer full sun and can handle a variety of soil types. They are drought-resistant, but watering during dry spells helps them thrive. Removing old blooms will keep them flowering longer.
8. Aster (Aster spp.)
These flowers come in many colors, including purple, pink, and white. They bloom from late summer to fall, providing lovely color when many other flowers have faded.
Care Tips: Asters prefer well-drained soil and full sun to partial shade. They like consistent moisture, so be sure to water them during dry periods. Cutting back the plants after blooming can help them stay healthy for the next season.
9. Catmint (Nepeta spp.)
Catmint features spikes of small, purple flowers that bloom from late spring to early fall. It has fragrant leaves that can attract pollinators like bees and butterflies.
Care Tips: These plants thrive in well-drained soil and full sun. Catmint is drought-tolerant and low-maintenance. Trimming the plants back after the first bloom encourages a second wave of flowers.
10. Autumn Joy Stonecrop (Sedum spectabile)
These flowers feature thick, fleshy leaves and produce large clusters of pink flowers that turn to rust as they mature. They sprout from late summer to fall, providing lasting color into autumn.
Care Tips: These plants prefer well-drained soil and full sun. They are drought-resistant and require little care. You can cut back the spent flowers in late fall, which helps keep the plant healthy.
There’s a perfect perennial for every garden. So go ahead and plant these flowers, and enjoy a garden that stays lively and colorful all season long!
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Nancy has been a plant person from an early age. That interest blossomed into a bachelor’s in biology from Elmira College and a master’s degree in horticulture and communications from the University of Kentucky. Nancy worked in plant taxonomy at the University of Florida and the L. H. Bailey Hortorium at Cornell University, and wrote and edited gardening books at Rodale Press in Emmaus, PA. Her interests are plant identification, gardening, hiking, and reading.