Creating a Full Sun Garden For Your Summer Landscape
While we’re technically still in spring, we’ve been feeling that summer heat linger into the garden. Now is a great time to get your plants in the ground and established before they become too hot to handle!
Do you have a section of your yard that receives full sun all day long? Do many plants swelter and burn under the intense rays? If you answered yes to these questions, you’ve come to the right place. In this blog, we will highlight the benefits of full sun gardens, along with the best practices and recommended plants for the space!
Why Full Sun Gardens Shine in Summer
If you’re on the fence about cultivating a full sun garden, you may want to consider the various benefits of these plantings! A sun-filled garden offers numerous benefits for both gardeners and plants themselves! The benefits are as follows:
Vibrant Displays
The first benefit a sun garden provides is the vibrant display of beauty and color it offers to your light-filled yard! Many sun-loving plants come in a range of bold colors and textures that bring unmatched beauty to any outdoor space.
Potential For Low-Maintenance
Sun-loving plants often develop adaptations that make them more readily resistant to conditions of drought. This means your plants would require less frequent watering and less work on your behalf to create a beautiful garden.
Reduced Risk of Disease and Pests
In addition to a low-maintenance care regimen, full sun gardens have a reduced risk of disease and threat of pests; this is because the bright light and drier conditions are not ideal for fungi, bacteria, and pests.
Improved Growth & Flowering
A final benefit of full-sun gardens is the boost in growth and flowering prompted by the extra hours of sunlight. Sunlight is an essential feature for photosynthesis, the process plants use to create energy and nutrients. Thus, full sun encourages vigorous growth and abundant flowering in many plants.
Choosing the Right Location For Your Sun Garden
Now that you know the various benefits of full-sun gardening, it's time to determine the best location for your plantings. To determine if a garden receives enough sunlight for full sun plants (6- 8+ hours of direct sun daily), you must observe the area throughout the day, record the duration and intensity of sunlight, and consider how the sunlight patterns will shift with the change of the seasons.
South-facing gardens generally receive more sunlight than north-facing gardens, but it is also vital to consider obstructions that will bring heavy shade, such as trees, buildings, and homes.
The Best Trees, Shrubs, and Perennials for Full Sun
While there are many plants that can tolerate conditions of full sun, there are a select number of plants that truly thrive in such conditions.
Below are a few of our favorite sun-loving plant varieties to light up your landscape in the summer season.
Russian Sage
First on our list of plants that thrive in full sun exposure is the hardy and beautiful Russian Sage. This attractive perennial is characterized by its silvery foliage, sturdy stems, and long-lasting purple blooms that persist from early summer through to the fall.
Growing anywhere from two to four feet tall, this clump-forming plant is perfect for sunny flowerbed filler plants, yard borders, and planted on its own as a statement piece.
Blue Arrow Juniper
For a cool-toned, drought-tolerant sun lover, look no further than the Blue Arrow Juniper! This narrow, upright evergreen tree boasts striking blue-green to silvery blue foliage, adding unique interest and flair to an outdoor space. Perfect for privacy screens and wind breaks, the Blue Arrow Juniper grows to heights nearing 12-15 feet and a width of 102 feet. Its slim size is ideal for narrow spaces, and its tolerance to intense full sun makes it a superior choice for full-sun gardens.
Golden Euonymus
For a touch of warm, golden hues to match the warm, golden sunlight, plant the Golden Euonymus. This well-rounded shrub has shiny green leaves that are variegated with wide yellow margins. This contrast of colors is eye-catching and easily brings unique interest to your sunny space!
Consider planting the Golden Euonymus this summer season to shine all year long as a colorful hedge or foundation planting!
Natchez Crape Myrtle
To bring some whimsical elegance to your sunny summer landscape, plant the Natchez Crape Myrtle. Known for its delicate plumes of long-lasting white blooms complemented by the exfoliating cinnamon colored bark, this tree is a true gem in a summer sun garden. As a bonus, you can enjoy a rich display of color in autumn as the tree’s foliage transitions for the cold season.
Blue Heaven Butterfly Bush
No sun garden is complete without a mass of butterflies to greet you! That is why a Butterfly Bush is a fantastic option to incorporate into your sun garden.
The Blue Heaven Butterfly Bush is a compact variety of Buddleia featuring fragrant violet-blue flower spikes that are magnets to butterflies and other pollinators.
The gorgeous shrub grows to be about 2-3 feet tall and wide and works in a range of different landscape designs. The best part? When grown in full sun conditions and cared for properly, you can enjoy continuous blooms from summer until frost!
Pink Muhly Grass
To add an explosion of pink flair to your sun-filled outdoor space, plant Pink Muhly Grass!
This drought-tolerant, sun-loving ornamental grass is a vibrant addition to any garden. Delicate, airy clusters of bubblegum pink flowers emerge in late summer through the fall. These fluffy cotton-candy-like plumes sway majestically in the wind and make a grand statement in the landscape.
Shop Full Sun Garden Plants Online
Creating a full-sun garden is not only possible, it can be incredibly rewarding with the right approach and plant selection. From bold blooms to hardy evergreens and graceful grasses, a full-sun landscape offers year-round beauty and minimal maintenance when planned wisely.
Whether you're looking to support pollinators, enhance curb appeal, or simply enjoy more color in your yard, full-sun gardening makes it easy to succeed in style. Ready to bring your summer landscape to life? Explore our top picks for full-sun plants and start planting today!