Want more gardening tips?
Warning
Some flowers may be toxic to animals or humans, as noted below.
Verbena
The Spruce / Leticia Almeida
Verbena (Verbenaspp.)
Juhla / Getty Images
They prefer full sun and well-drained soil.
Some types of verbena are toxic to animals.
Lily
Cyndi Monaghan / Getty Images
Lilies (Liliumspp.)
The Spruce / Letícia Almeida
are tall, elegant flowers with trumpet-shaped blooms in various colors.
They prefer full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil.
Expect these fragrant flowers to bloom in the summer.
Cyndi Monaghan / Getty Images
Lilies are toxic to cats.
They thrive in full sun and well-drained soil.
These self-seeding plants are true workhorses in the garden and effortlessly bloom all summer.
ZenShui / Michele Constantini / Getty Images
and have a fresh smell like cucumbers.
They prefer full sun and well-drained soil.
Borage can be slightly toxic to humans and animals.
Albert Fertl / Getty Images
Penstemon
Clive Nichols / Getty Images
Penstemons (Penstemonspp.
They prefer full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil.
They prefer full sun and well-drained soil.
Clive Nichols / Getty Images
If you plant yarrow in the spring, you’ll have plenty of summer blooms.
Yarrow is toxic to animals.
Crocosmia
Jacky Parker Photography / Getty Images
Crocosmia (Crocosmiaspp.
ChristopherBernard / Getty Images
They prefer full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil.
This perennial makes its appearance in the early summer with its vibrant blooms.
Hydrangea
azndc / Getty Images
Hydrangeas (Hydrangeaspp.)
Jacky Parker Photography / Getty Images
Their flowers are either large and round, cone-shaped panicles, or smaller, flatter, and more delicate.
They prefer partial shade and moist, well-drained soil.
Look for their stunning display as early as June and they can continue into the fall.
azndc / Getty Images
Roses
Rosemary Calvert / Getty Images
Roses (Rosaspp.)
come in various colors like red, pink, yellow, and white.
They thrive in sunny locations with well-drained soil.
Rosemary Calvert / Getty Images
They are known for their velvety petals, thorny stems, and divine fragrance.
Regardless of throw in, roses bloom from late spring through early fall.
They thrive in full sun and well-drained soil.
Katrin Ray Shumakov / Getty images
Zinnias willbloom all summer and last into the fall seasonbut do best during the warmer months.
It prefers full sun to partial shade and moist, well-drained soil.
Marigold
wulingyun / Getty Images
Marigolds (Tagetesspp.)
skhoward / Getty images
are common annual flowers with bright orange or yellow blooms and a distinctive scent.
They thrive in full sun and well-drained soil.
These summer bloomers rarely need help to flower in the summer.
wulingyun / Getty Images
Begonia
YONCA60 / Getty Images
Begonias (Begoniaspp.)
produce clusters of colorful single or double flowers in shades of red, pink, orange, and white.
They prefer partial shade and well-drained soil.
YONCA60 / Getty Images
This annual flower blooms from summer into late fall.
Begonias are toxic to animals.
They prefer full sun and well-drained soil.
OKRAD / Getty Images
This cheerful flower blooms from spring through summer.
The plant can be toxic to animals.
They prefer full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil.
Albert Fertl / Getty Images
The flowers will be on display from May through October.
Sweet William can be mildly toxic to humans and animals.
Geranium
Elizabeth Fernandez / Getty Images
Geraniums (Pelargoniumspp.)
Elizabeth Fernandez / Getty Images
They prefer full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil.
Geraniums bloom from spring through the fall.
Petunia
Os Tartarouchos / Getty Images
Petunias (Petuniaspp.)
Os Tartarouchos / Getty Images
are popular annuals with trumpet-shaped flowers in various colors.
They thrive in full sun and well-drained soil.
Daylily
Barry Winiker / Getty Images
Daylilies (Hemerocallisspp.)
Barry Winiker / Getty Images
The daylily is toxic to cats.
They prefer full sun and well-drained soil.
This fast-growing flower blooms in the summer through the fall.
somnuk krobkum / Getty Images
Blanket Flower
sassy1902 / Getty Images
Blanket flowers (Gaillardiaspp.)
They thrive in full sun and well-drained soil.
Blanket flowers are repeat bloomers in the summer through the autumn.
sassy1902 / Getty Images
This flower is slightly toxic to humans.
Salvia
AlpamayoPhoto / Getty Images
Salvias (Salviaspp.
They prefer full sun and well-drained soil.
AlpamayoPhoto / Getty Images
Most salvia plants are well-known for long bloom times, from late spring into the fall.
Fuchsia
The Spruce / Kara Riley
Fuchsias (Fuchsiaspp.)
produce pendulous flowers in shades of pink, purple, and red.
The Spruce / Kara Riley
They prefer partial shade and moist, well-drained soil.
They prefer full sun and fertile, well-drained soil.
Peonies begin to bloom in the spring and continue into the late summer.
Jasenka Arbanas / Getty images
Peonies are toxic to animals.
They thrive in full sun and well-drained soil.
Fragrant sunflowers bloom from midsummer and sometimes persist into the early autumn.
Rapeepong Puttakumwong / Getty images
Foxglove
itsabreeze photography / Getty Images
Foxgloves (Digitalisspp.)
produce tall spikes of tubular flowers in shades of pink, purple, and white.
They prefer partial shade and moist, well-drained soil.
itsabreeze photography / Getty Images
Be patient since this biennial blooms in its second year.
Foxglove is toxic to humans and animals.
Clematis
Clematis vines (Clematisspp.
Jacky Parker Photography / Getty Images
They prefer full sun to partial shade and moist, well-drained soil.
The vine flowers from early summer into early fall.
Clematis is toxic to humans and animals.
Clive Nichols / Getty Images
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemumspp.)
are perennials (often grown as annuals) with pom-pom-like blooms in various vibrant colors.
Mums are toxic to animals.
AYImages / Getty Images
Coreopsis
AYImages / Getty Images
Coreopsis (Coreopsisspp.)
They thrive in full sun and well-drained soil.
Coreopsis is easy to grow, drought-tolerant, and long-blooming throughout the summer.
Caroline Gauvin / Getty images
Lavender
Caroline Gauvin / Getty images
Lavender (Lavandulaspp.)
is a perennial known for its fragrant purple flowers and silvery-green foliage.
It grows best in sunny areas with well-drained, slightly alkaline soil.
emer1940 / Getty Images
Mostlavender will bloomin the summer but may appear earlier or later in the season depending on the variety.
Lavender is toxic to cats.
Cardinal flower blooms from midsummer into the early autumn.
Clive Nichols / Getty Images
This flower is toxic to animals.
Columbine
Columbines (Aquilegiaspp.)
They prefer partial shade and moist, well-drained soil.
mr_coffee / Getty Images
This flower blooms in the spring and summer.
They prefer full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil.
Lilies are toxic to cats.
Douglas Peebles / Getty Images
They prefer full sun and moist, well-drained soil.
Hibiscus blooms from June into fall.
They thrive in full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil.
© Jackie Bale / Getty Images
This perennial blooms from May through July.
Daisies are toxic to animals.
Liatris
Photos by R A Kearton / Getty Images
Liatris (Liatrisspp.)
Photos by R A Kearton / Getty Images
plants, also called blazing stars, produce tall spikes of tiny purple, pink, or white flowers.
They prefer full sun and well-drained soil.
This perennial blooms from summer into early fall.
Clive Nichols / Getty Images
Iris
Irises (Irisspp.)
have elegant, sword-shaped blooms in shades of blue, purple, yellow, and white.
Most irises, such as the bearded iris group, grow from rhizomatous roots.
schnuddel / Getty Images
They prefer full sun to partial shade and moist, well-drained soil.
You may get blooms in the first season, but irises will likely bloom in the second season.
Irises are toxic to animals.
Wirestock / Getty Images
Delphinium
schnuddel / Getty Images
Delphiniums (Delphiniumspp.
They prefer full sun and moist, well-drained soil.
This plant flowers from early spring through the summer.
Ali Majdfar / Getty Images
Delphinium is toxic to animals.
They prefer full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil.
This perennial is an easy plant and isresistant to most pestsand diseases.
Jena Ardell / Getty Images
Phlox can be creeping or grow tall to 5 feet.
They prefer full sun to partial shade and moist, well-drained soil.
Expect flowers from spring through late summer.
Jacky Parker Photography / Getty Images
Dahlia
Jena Ardell / Getty Images
Dahlias (Dahliaspp.)
offer colorful blooms in various shapes and sizes, including pom-poms and sizes as large as dinner plates.
They prefer full sun and fertile, well-drained soil.
stockcam / Getty Images
These late-season bloomers show from midsummer through the first frost.
Dahlias are toxic to animals.
Rudbeckia
Rudbeckias (Rudbeckiaspp.
Simon McGill / Getty Images
Aster
stockcam / Getty Images
Asters (Symphyotrichumspp.)
bloom daisy-like flowers in shades of blue, purple, pink, and white.
They prefer full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil.
Nancybelle Gonzaga Villarroya / Getty Images
These perennials are late-summer bloomers adding fresh color to your garden from August through October.
Canna Lily
Simon McGill / Getty Images
Canna lilies (Cannaspp.)
are well-known for their large, tropical-looking blooms in shades of red, orange, yellow, and pink.
Jacky Parker Photography / Getty Images
They prefer full sun and moist, well-drained soil.
Most cannas grow to 6 to 8 feet tall.
Though they are considered perennials, cannas are usually grown as annuals in colder regions.
They prefer full sun and well-drained soil.
Purple coneflower is hugely popular and common in most gardens.
Sea Holly
Sea holly(Eryngiumspp.
)distinctive steel-blue, cone-shaped flower heads are surrounded by spiky foliage.
It thrives in full sun and well-drained, sandy, or loamy soil.
These easy, low-maintenance, and long-living perennials bloom their shimmering thistles from midsummer until fall.
Once you’ve decided on flowers,consider more tipson summer gardening.
Which Lilies are Toxic to Cats?ASPCA.
Borago Officinalis.North Carolina State Extension.
Toxic Plants.University of California-Davis.
Toxic Plants.University of California.
Foxglove, Toxic to the Heart.National Capital Poison Center.
Skin problems from outdoor plants.
