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20 Sun Loving Perennials That Bloom All Summer

If you love flowers and are always looking for new varieties to plant in your backyard, you’ll love this list of sun loving perennials that bloom all summer. Some perennials bloom just a few weeks out of the year, but others keep on pushing up new flowers relentlessly through the hot summer months. 

I recently did a little research on some full sun perennials, and they are perfect for those full sun areas in your yard. Many of them work great in containers, so if you don’t have a large garden, you can still enjoy many of the blooms on this list.

colorful sun loving summer garden

Favorite Sun Loving Perennials That Bloom All Summer

1. Butterfly bush

a butterfly enjoying a purple butterfly bush

If you love butterflies then a beautiful butterfly bush is a must-have perennial plant for your garden. A butterfly bush should be planted in a sunny spot, so its bright colors will bloom abundantly.

Their beautiful white, purple, or lavender-pink flowers and honey-scented nectar will enhance your garden. One butterfly bush could attract many types of butterflies to enjoy throughout the entire summer and into the early fall.

You can get a live, ready to plant butterfly bush from amazon.

Fun Fact: Butterfly Bushes symbolize peace after struggle

2. Hollyhocks

Hollyhocks garden

Hollyhocks are beautiful colorful sun loving perennials that bloom all summer. They are beloved by gardeners and flower enthusiasts alike because they can grow up to nine feet tall and will beautifully add a vertical element to a garden. Hollyhocks will definitely add personality and dimension to your landscape. Hollyhocks are easy to grow and will thrive when planted in rich soil in a sunny area.

Fun Fact: Hollyhocks symbolize the cycle of life.

3. Hardy geraniums

beautiful field of hardy geraniums

Gardeners and perennial flower enthusiasts love to grow hardy geraniums for their wide range of colors and elegant beauty. Hardy geraniums are considered wildflowers that will grow in just about any environment. They add a cheerful touch and enhance gardens because they happily bloom all summer filling a garden with gorgeous long-lasting blooms that will return year after year. They are perfect for potted plants and bouquets.

Fun Fact: Hardy geraniums symbolize friendship and positive emotions.

4. Coneflower

Coneflowers (also known as purple echinacea)

For those looking for a striking, bright fast-growing flower that stands upright between two and four feet high and looks amazing when many grow together, then Cone Flowers (Echinacea) are the right perennial flowers for your garden.

Butterflies and songbirds love the seeds of coneflowers, so leave the seeds intact after the blooms fall. Cone flowers are members of the daisy family and are beloved for their bright colors and dark green leaves. They feature prickly lower stems and raised cone-like centers where the seeds are located. Cone flowers bloom in mid to late summer and early fall.

Fun Fact: Coneflowers are a symbol of strength and healing. It is also called, Echinacea, which is popular for promoting health and wellness.

5. Day lily

blooming orange daylilies

Daylilies are perfect for any garden that is looking for beauty, dimension, height, and color. They are referred to as the perfect perennial because they are a low maintenance plant providing a variety of bright colors, and require little to no attention.

These flowers will grow just about anywhere, even in the poorest soil. However, they thrive when fertilized and are exposed to eight hours of sunlight. Day Lilies are showy flowers because they grow up to six feet high and spread out up to four feet wide. Each clump of flowers can generate up to four hundred blooms in one month. That’s good news because the flower’s blooms only last one day, hence their name, day lily.

My favorite daylily is the Stella D’Oro! It’s stunning!

Fun Fact: Day Lilies are a symbol of purity, devotion, and commitment. In China, they are displayed at weddings because they symbolize 100 years of love and good luck.

6. Hydrangeas

colorful hydrangea flowers

Hydrangeas are beautiful blooming cup-shaped flowers that grow in many colors, flower sizes, and shapes. They are long-living perennials and when planted in partial sun and watered regularly will provide beautiful blooms for up to 50 years. Hydrangea blossoms have flower clusters in blue, pink, white, and lavender petals. Fully bloomed hydrangea are great cut flowers and look gorgeous in vases.

Fun Fact: Hydrangeas symbolize heartfelt emotion and genuine appreciation for others.

7. Shasta daisy

shasta daisy flowers

Shasta daisy is one of the showiest, reliable perennial plants and beloved by many gardeners and florists alike. Shasta daisies require little care when planted in rich soil and full sun. They are a low-maintenance plant that can adapt to almost any environment.

Daisies begin to bloom the first year planted and add a bright splash of color to your garden early summer throughout the fall. Shasta daisies make beautiful borders for your garden beds. The name daisy in Old English translates to day’s eye, reflecting how the flowers close their petals at night and reopens them during the day.

Fun Fact: Daisies symbolize loyalty, patience purity, and simplicity.

8. Dusty miller

Dusty miller

Dusty Miller or its common name, Quicksilver features silver-gray foliage that will add drama and dimension to your perennial garden. One unique feature of Dusty Miller is its fuzzy textured leaves.

Dusty Miller thrives in full sun but will grow in partial shade throughout the summer and late fall. The color and texture of Dusty Miller combine and blend beautifully with other colorful perennial flower colors and blanket flowers. Its lacy leaves are deer resistant, making it a great addition to gardens where wild animals share the environment.

Fun Fact: Dusty Miller symbolizes happiness, joy, and delicacy.

9. Yarrow

yarrow blooms

Yarrow or achillea millefolium, gordaldo, nosebleed plant, and old man’s pepper as it is also called, is a hardy wildflower that requires little care.

Some consider it a herbaceous plant because of its medicinal attributes. It is commonly used to aid digestive, upper respiratory, and arthritis issues. Yarrow is a gorgeous addition to any garden. It prefers full sun and will provide beautiful colorful feather-like florets and fern-like leaves throughout the summer.

Fun Fact: Yarrow symbolizes healing and protection, and some consider it a good luck flower.

10. Potentilla

deep red potentilla flowers

Absolutely stunning is a garden full of Potentilla, a perennial flower that provides luscious saucer-shaped blossoms in multiple colors including white, pink, yellow, and red. It is perfect for bordering rock gardens, hedging, and for covering sloped areas.

Potentilla is perfect for providing colorful fullness to potted plants. this flower is one of the most popular landscape shrubs and is perfect for rock gardens, borders, and blending with other showy flowers. Potentilla attracts butterflies, bees, and other pollinators to your garden.

Fun Fact: Potentilla symbolizes youth and maternal affection.

More Sun Loving Perennials That Bloom All Summer

11. Lavender

lavender patch

Lavender is a garden favorite thanks to its gorgeous purple flowers, deep green stems, and popular fragrance. Featuring distinctive fragrant flowers that provide beauty and scent from mid-summer to early fall, lavender is perfect for garden beds and rock gardens that include other perennials, herbs, and flower colors located in full sun.

Lavender has a calming, relaxing fragrance and is commonly dried and used in potpourri, candles, sachets, and aromatherapy products. When these fragrant flowers are cut, they make gorgeous arrangements when displayed in vases.

Fun Fact: Lavender symbolizes spiritual healing, silence, purity, and grace.

12. Coreopsis

bright yellow coreopsis flowers

Coreopsis, also referred to as tickseed, is multi colorful cheerful daisy-like flowers that blossom from early summer to midsummer. Their wide range of colors is sure to add a splash of color to any garden. Butterflies and bees are attracted to this showy flower and birds enjoy snacking on their seeds.

Coreopsis is a low maintenance plant, requires little care is planted in full sun and watered regularly. They will also grow in partial shade, but the flowers will not be as brilliant and the stems may be longer and lankier.

Fun Fact: Coreopsis symbolizes cheerfulness and delight.

13. Bee balm

bright pink bee balm flowers

Bee balm also referred to as wild Bergamot, is a very popular perennial flower due to its beautiful flowers of pink, red, white, and purple.

The fragrant and showy flowers of bee balm attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees while blooming in the summer. Their seeds will also attract birds to the garden in the fall and winter seasons.

Beautiful bee balm, a member of the mint family, loves the full sun but will grow in partially shaded gardens. Bee balm flowers have a distinct aroma, are edible and enjoyed as a tea, added to salads, and used as a garnish.

Fun Fact: Bee Balm symbolizes protection from illness and is a hallmark of good health.

14. Gaillardia

blanket flowers - gaillardia

Gaillardia, also referred to as blanket flower are daisy-like flowers featuring amazing rich, deep colors. Gaillardia grows by spreading throughout the garden bed and look like they are blanketing the area.

They are a long blooming hardy plant that thrives in gardens offering full, direct sunshine. The showy flowers, are available in 12 species, and are perfect for borders, rock gardens, and are a beautiful addition to potted plants.

Fun Fact: Blanket flowers or Gaillardia symbolize charm, joy, and cheerfulness.

15. Black-eyed Susan

Black eyed susan flowers

Gardens that include black-eyed Susan flowers are stunning. They feature cheerful golden-colored flowers and a brown domed center that blend well with other flowers. Gardens including this wildflower simply radiate happiness.

These long-lasting, low-maintenance flowers offer beautiful, bright blooms from July to late fall. Birds and butterflies will frequently visit gardens that include black-eyed Susan flowers. They are great cut flowers and add a special color and dimension to bouquets.

Fun Fact: Black-Eyed Susan flowers are a symbol of encouragement and motivation.

16. Red hot pokers

red hot pokers in the garden with black eyed Susans

Red Hot Pokers get their name from their vivid bright, rich red, yellow, or orange color. These tube-shaped flowers are striking additions to gardens and also are eye-catching as a single stand-alone plant.

Red Hot Pokers are considered one of the hottest, most exotic flowers that thrive in full sun. Their beautiful blooms can last up to 18 days, so plant them front and center stage with other perennials, annuals and sun-loving plants. Hummingbirds and butterflies are attracted to red hot pokers.

Fun Fact: Red Hot Pokers symbolize awakening to your true self and inner teachings

17. Catmint

catmint flowers

Catmint or its more common name, Walker’s low beautifully spreads throughout garden beds. Catmint is an aromatic herb that thrives in full sun, and will graciously bloom into fragrant purple flowers starting in the spring and continuing throughout the late summer.

Catmint is a hardy perennial offering bright, cheerful colors. It blends well with other flowers and foliage and adds a delightful touch to any sized garden.

Fun Fact: Cat Mint symbolizes fertility and love.

18. Peruvian lily

peruvian lilies

You know spring has sprung when a Peruvian Lily pops its beauty into your garden beds. Peruvian Lilies, also known as Lily of the Incas, are a very popular, striking perennial that features pink, white, orange, purple, red, yellow, and salmon blossoms.

They are a showy flower that grows well in gardens offering full sun. These beautiful flowers require little care when planted in full sun and given plenty of space. Peruvian lilies, like other types of lilies, are great cut flowers and a perfect addition to potted planters.

Fun Fact: Peruvian Lilies symbolize devotion and lasting friendship

19. Russian sage

Russian sage bushes

An all-time favorite of gardeners and flower enthusiasts alike is Russian Sage. This beautiful hardy perennial flower is vibrant purple complemented with green leaves and stems. Russian sage is a fragrant member of the mint family and is easy to grow when located in a sunny spot in your garden.

It’s never too hot for Russian Sage, as it thrives in hot, intense sun, including by rock gardens, sidewalks, and a strip along a driveway. Russian Sage is both rabbit and deer resistant and attracts bees and butterflies to your garden.

Fun Fact: Russian Sage symbolizes power, success, and character

20. Hibiscus

red hibiscus flower

Those wanting to add drama and dimension to their flower gardens should look to hardy hibiscus perennials (Amazon has seeds!). Hibiscus produces stunning, very large tropical-like pink, white, and red flowers. The flowers of hibiscus attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds to your garden.

It begins to bloom in late summer when other flowers are beginning to fade. Hibiscus thrives in full sun and rich, well-draining soil. Mix with other flowers to add eye-catching interest to your garden or potted plants.

Fun Fact: Hibiscus symbolizes youth, elegance, and beauty.

Sun loving perennials that bloom all summer
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Adriana Copaceanu is a passionate nature lover living in the country on her dream property where she grows vegetables, lavender, and wildflowers that she shares with the wildlife they attract. When she's not in the garden, she loves spending time with her chickens and planning her next nature project. Check out her books below:

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