Summer is a great time in terms of design to add plants to the garden. Why? Because often times, when we plan out a garden in the Spring, we think of Spring and early Summer plants only. By the time August comes along, your garden has very few plants in bloom. Adding late-blooming plants now will extend the bloom time of your garden.

Here is a list of some of our favorites:

Anemone ‘Robustissima’- This Japanese Anemone is a big, sturdy perennial reaching 4’ tall with beautiful mauve-pink flowers that are 3” across. Flowering begins in August and continues until early fall. This plant likes full sun to part shade.

Chelone ‘Hot Lips’- Turtleheads are native wildflowers that form an upright, bushy mound of shiny green foliage. The large rosy-pink hooded flowers that are held on upright stems, start to bloom in the late Summer and carry on through mid Fall. Growing about 24- 36” tall and 24” wide, this plant likes average or moist or wed beds and full sun to part shade.

Lobelia siphilita- Great Blue Lobelia is a wonderful plant that displays deep blue flowers in late summer and early fall.
It reaches 1-3’ tall and prefers full sun to partial shade and moist soil. It attracts hummingbirds.

Phlox paniculata- Garden phlox is a long-time favorite. It starts to bloom in July and continues into September. The height is 2-4’ and 2-3’ spread. Phlox prefers full sun to part shade. Here are our varieties: Bright Eyes: Pale pink with a crimson eye, David: pure white, Glamour Girl: hot coral pink.

Asters novae-angliae- As Daffodils are the harbingers of Spring, Asters most definitely are the harbingers for Fall.
They bloom from late summer through late fall in an array of colors. They are tolerant of most soil conditions and seaside locations and prefer full sun. Our varieties are: Alma Potschke: reddish-pink daisies with yellow centers, Lady-in Black: purplish-black foliage with tiny pale pink daisies, Purple Dome: rich purple daisy-like blossoms with yellow centers.

Agastache Arizona Sun- This Agastache is the perfect variety for a small garden or container. It grows only 8-10” tall with sunny yellow blossoms on flower spikes. It is low maintenance and likes full sun and well-drained soil. It blooms from July to September and is a butterfly magnet!!

Agastache rugosa ‘Little Adder’- This is another compact, well-branched variety reaching only 15-18” tall. It has a long blooming season from July- September displaying nonstop lavender-purple blooms. The butterflies and hummingbirds love it!

Liatris spicata ‘Kobold’- This tough perennial blooms from mid-Summer to mid Fall with spikes of rounded, fluffy, deep purple flower heads. It is low maintenance grows 2-3’ tall and prefers a sunny area. Attracts pollinators and butterflies. The variety Floristan White has white flower spikes.

Solidago ‘Fireworks’ – This is an interesting variety with golden yellow flower spikes that grow horizontally throughout the clump giving it the look of an explosion! It blooms from late Summer to late Fall. It grows 3-4’ tall in full sun and makes a great backdrop for mums and other late bloomers. And don’t worry Goldenrod does not aggravate hay fever! Another variety: Solidago ‘Little Lemon’ – lemon yellow flowers on a compact 12-18” height.

Scabiosa ‘Blue Butterfly’- This long-blooming compact, clump-forming perennial has multiple pincushion-shaped flowers in a beautiful blue. It grows 15” tall and blooms from late Spring to early Fall in full sun to partial shade.

Stokesia ‘Peachie’s Pick’- This low maintenance plant blooms from June to September. It grows 1-2’ tall and has fluffy, cornflower-like blue flowers up to 3” across.