Garden: Heat-Loving Summer Plants

Republished from Garden Supply Co. Lead photo by Hal Goodtree. All others courtesy of Garden Supply.

Cary, NC – So far this year, we’ve been quite blessed with beautiful weather. What was a relatively short and mild winter has given way to a long and lovely spring.

Summertime, And the Flowers are Blooming

For all you gardeners out there, it’s been a great time to work in the yard. And even though summer’s heat will soon be upon us, that doesn’t mean that you have to give up on flowers for the season. There are plenty of heat-tolerant plants out there that will provide color and beauty all summer long.

Here’s a list of some of our top favorites.

Lantana

If you’re looking for a continuous burst of color all summer long, look no further. You can choose from a bevy of lantanas in just about every shade but blue. Most popular are the low-growing, spreading types, which are great for using in hanging baskets, cascading over walls, or massing in large sweeps. Although some selections boast flowers in solid colors, many have bi-colored clusters. They are notoriously easy to grow and require little attention. Better yet, a  lantana garden is butterfly heaven.  No flowers do a better job of attracting them.

Black Eyed Susan

The Black Eyed Susan is sturdy and easy-to-grow, boasting two to four-inch yellow flowers with a prominent purplish-black cone. These cheery flowers make great cut flowers for indoor arrangements, and actually benefit from a cutting back by producing more flowers later in the season. They grow well in just about any kind of soil, and also attract bees and butterflies to the garden.

Verbena

The numerous selections of this flower are some of the garden’s most colorful, useful, and easy-to-grow plants. They bloom in late spring, thrive in heat, and tolerate drought. Verbenas are mainly grown for their remarkable length of bloom with most blooming from spring until close to frost if trimmed back once or twice in mid summer. Flower color ranges from white through pink, red, lavender, blue and purple.

Threadleaf Coreopsis (Tickseed)