4 Shrubs that Bloom All Summer
Spring is the most talked about gardening season of the year, closely followed by fall. Most gardeners are starving for color in the early spring because we've spent all winter dreaming about colorful flowers and bright, vibrant green foliage. Many gardeners forget that summer is one of the most critical flower seasons because many pollinators are present and need the nectar provided by blooming shrubs.
We have assembled a list of shrubs to add summer color to your yard. These summer flowering shrubs are easy to grow and disease resistant. They will provide months of blooms and nectar for butterflies, honey bees, and other pollinators, which are crucial to our ecosystem.
1. Buddleia or Butterfly Bush
Any list of summer flowering shrubs must start with the Butterfly Bush. If you're looking for an easy-to-grow plant that leads the pack in attracting butterflies and flowers all summer, look no further. Why else would they call it butterfly bush?
Butterfly bushes come in many colors, ranging from dark purple, blue, and pink. There are even buddleias that produce white blooms. They can be grown in any well-drained soil from full sun to part sun. Not a summer day will go by that the buddleia is not covered in butterflies and honey bees.
Breeders are now creating dwarf varieties that stay smaller and are better suited for the front of the garden.
Our Favorites
Buddleia Black Knight is one of the oldest, but still extremely popular butterfly bushes. It's a taller variety with large, dark purple flowers. The powder blue flowers cover this short butterfly bush, making it perfect for the front of the border or even pots. If you are looking for a dwarf variety, we suggest Buddleia Lo and Behold Blue Chip Junior.
2. Spirea
The Spirea family has come a long way in recent years, thanks to the breeding efforts of many around the globe. Their easy-care nature makes them perfect members of the summer flowering border. Not only are the flowers bright and cheerful pollinator magnets, but many have colorful foliage and gorgeous fall color.
Our Favorites
Most summer blooming spireas produce pink flowers, but there are newer varieties with red flowers, such as Spirea Double Play Red, which is rapidly becoming a favorite at our nursery.
3. Crape Myrtles
Nothing says summer like the clusters of colorful, paper-like blooms of the Crape Myrtle. Pinks, reds, whites, and purples abound in any summer garden with crape myrtles. Southern areas of the country come alive every summer with color thanks to crape myrtle, and many towns even have festivals that revolve around this favorite landscape plant.
Crape Myrtle shrubs come in heights from 3 feet to 6 feet tall, with bloom times that vary from early summer to late summer. The blooms often last for 6 to 8 weeks, and newer varieties even re-bloom throughout the fall.
Our Favorites
While each crape myrtle has multiple reasons to love it, our staff seems to be drawn to three plants. Crape Myrtle Cherry Dazzle produces the reddest flowers we've ever seen, and its dwarf size makes it perfect for patio pots. Its sister Berry Dazzle is also a favorite for its flower color, but the foliage is a real show-stopper. Clean dark green leaves with touches of red and purple.
Double feature Crape Myrtle is a non-stop flower machine. Once it gets started in the spring, it continues well into the fall with ruby red flowers. Crape myrtles are perfect replacements for Rose of Sharon shrubs for adding color to the garden, and they require little to no maintenance to live their best life.
4. Hydrangeas
The amount of new hydrangeas that hit the market every year is mind-blowing. Each year it seems like a whole new category of hydrangeas is created. Many types of hydrangeas are available, from hydrangea paniculata types with their cone-shaped flowers to big-leaf types such as the Endless Summer varieties. Some hydrangeas can take full sun, partial shade, and even full shade.
There are even native hydrangea varieties for those who prefer to plant native plants in their gardens. Hydrangea Annabelle is a member of the smooth hydrangea family, native to the eastern United States.
Our Favorites
We have too many favorites hydrangeas to list, but a few from the top of that list are Hydrangea Vanilla Strawberry, whose flowers change from white to red as the weather cools in the fall, and Limelight hydrangea with its green-tinged flowers that seem to last for months.
No list of hydrangeas would be complete without mentioning the Endless Summer Hydrangea Family. At the top of that list is the newest member, the Endless Summer Crush Hydrangea with its brilliant red flowers.
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We're confident that from this list, you will find your own favorite summer blooming shrubs, and we hope this list is enough to get you started on your quest to fill the summer landscape with color.
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