The Top 15 Summer-Blooming Flowers for Every Corner of Your Yard

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on LawnStarter.

Sunflowers, periwinkles, and black-eyed Susans — these are just a few of the best summer flowers for your yard.

From full sun to shade, moist to dry soil, and beautiful flowers to colored foliage, here you’ll find a variety of options that will fit just right in your garden.

We’ve also included expert advice, including their own summer flower favorites, to inspire you when building your summer landscape.

Marigolds

• USDA Hardiness Zone: 2 to 11
• Sun: Full sun
• Soil: Almost any kind of moist, well-drained soil
• Duration: Annual or perennial
• Bloom time: Summer to fall
• Water needs: Moderate
• Mature size: 1 to 4 feet tall and 6 inches to 1 foot wide
• Maintenance: Low

Marigolds (Tagetes) are known for their vibrant colors and long blooming season, adding interest to your garden up until the fall. A member of the aster family, marigolds also repel some garden pests such as aphids and flea beetles.

David Trinklein, Extension specialist at the University of Missouri, recommends both marigolds and zinnias for the beginning gardener: “Zinnias and marigolds both are very heat tolerant and come in a wide array of sizes and flower colors. Both have large seeds that are easy for novice gardeners to plant.”

Zinnias

• USDA Hardiness Zone: 2 to 11
• Sun: Full sun
• Soil: Various soil types, as long as they are well-drained
• Duration: Annual
• Bloom time: Summer to fall
• Water needs: Moderate
• Mature size: 12 to 48 inches tall and 6 to 18 inches wide
• Maintenance: Moderate. They need regular watering during dry periods. They also need regular inspection because they are susceptible to fungal diseases, such as powdery mildew, and pests (like spider mites and cutworms).

With daisy-like, vibrant flowers, zinnias (Zinnia elegans) are disease-resistant and easy to care for — a beginner-friendly annual for your home garden. Zinnias are also attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds that rejoice in their nectar.

Trinklein recommends “zinnias in the Profusion and Zahara series” for beginners, as they “tend to be tolerant of powdery mildew.”

Sunflowers

• USDA Hardiness Zone: 2 to 11
• Sun: Full sun
• Soil: Neutral to alkaline, fertile, moist, well-drained soils
• Duration: Annual
• Bloom time: Summer to fall
• Water needs: Low to moderate
• Mature size: 3 to 10 feet tall and 18 to 36 inches wide
• Maintenance: Low

Standing tall, nothing says summer like sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) with their yellow petals that resemble sunrays. Attractive to birds and pollinators, they can work wonderfully in a native pollinator garden. Plant your sunflowers in the back of your border to add a vertical element to your landscape.

Petunias

• USDA Hardiness Zone: 2 to 11
• Sun: Full sun
• Soil: Moist, well-drained soil
• Duration: Grown as annuals in most regions
• Bloom time: Late spring to fall
• Water needs: Moderate
• Mature size: 6 inches to 2 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide
• Maintenance: Low

Native to South America, petunias (Grandiflora petunia) thrive in hot summer temperatures. If you want to have fun with colors, petunias are your best choice. Blooming in purple, blue, white, and a variety of other showy colors, they will certainly add charm to your garden.

For Trinklein, choosing heat-tolerant species is key when choosing your summer flowers, and for this, petunias are an ideal fit. He also shares advice on choosing colors: “Follow a triadic color scheme. These are the colors the tips of an equilateral triangle would point to when placed on a color wheel. For example, yellow, red, and blue are triadic colors.”

Impatiens

• USDA Hardiness Zone: 7 to 11
• Sun: Partial shade to full shade
• Soil: Moist, well-drained soils
• Duration: Grown as perennials in zones 10 and 11 and as annuals in colder zones
• Bloom time: Late spring to early fall
• Water needs: Moderate
• Mature size: From 6 to 36 inches tall
• Maintenance: Low

Got shade? That’s not a problem for the common impatiens (Impatiens walleriana). Thriving in shady areas, impatiens are low-maintenance and can add color to your garden, even if it doesn’t get much sun.

Salvia

• USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 to 12
• Sun: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil: Well-drained soils
• Duration: Annual or perennial
• Bloom time: Late spring to fall
• Water needs: Moderate
• Mature size: 1 to 6 feet tall and 1 to 6 feet wide
• Maintenance: Low

If you’re looking for a plant that’s easy to grow and aromatic, sage (Salvia spp.) is here for you. Perfect for your garden bed or to plant as an ornamental border, salvia blooms come in purple, white, pink, and other colors. Common sage (Salvia officinalis) is also edible and can be used in your recipes.

Celosia

• USDA Hardiness Zone: 2 to 11
• Sun: Full sun
• Soil: Well-drained soil with various textures (except heavy clay)
• Duration: Annual, but can be grown as a tender perennial in hardiness zones 10 and 11
• Bloom time: Late spring to fall
• Water needs: Moderate
• Mature size: 6 inches to 4 feet tall and 6 inches to 2 feet wide
• Maintenance: Low

Part of the amaranth family, celosias (Celosia spp.) come in a variety of striking patterns. The plumosa varieties have soft, plume-like blossoms, while the cristatas’ flowers resemble a cockscomb (hence celosia’s other popular name). The spicata varieties, as the name suggests, have interesting spikey flowers.

Lantana

• USDA Hardiness Zone: 8 to 11
• Sun: Full sun
• Soil: Moist, well-drained soils; tolerates dry, poor soils
• Duration: Annual or perennial
• Bloom time: Late spring to fall (in warmer regions, it can bloom all year round)
• Water needs: Moderate
• Mature size: 1 to 6 feet tall and 2 to 4 feet wide
• Maintenance: Low

Common lantana (Lantana camara) is a great option if you’re looking for a drought-tolerant ground cover or shrub option. With robust flowering clusters, lantana attracts a variety of pollinators, being another great option for pollinator gardens. Just keep in mind that it is considered invasive in some places and has an aggressive growth habit.

Periwinkle

• USDA Hardiness Zone: 7 to 9
• Sun: Tolerates partial to full shade, but prefers full sun
• Soil: Dry to moderately moist, well-drained soils
• Duration: Perennial
• Bloom time: Spring to fall
• Water needs: Low to moderate
• Mature size: 6 inches to 2 feet and 12 inches to 18 inches wide
• Maintenance: Low

Periwinkle (Vinca major) is a dream for low-maintenance gardeners. Resistant to drought, diseases, and pests, periwinkles are easy to care for and make great groundcovers. You can also plant them under your shrubs or other shady spots in your yard that are missing some color.

Spider Flower

• USDA Hardiness Zone: 9 to 11
• Sun: Full sun
• Soil: Moist, well-drained soil
• Duration: Annual or perennial
• Bloom time: Summer to fall
• Water needs: Low to moderate
• Mature size: 2 to 6 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet wide
• Maintenance: Low

Spider flowers (Cleome spp.), also known as bee plants, are a deer-resistant option for garden beds. With a variety of cultivars with bright-colored, showy flowers, spider flowers can be planted with other perennials or en masse.

Cosmos

• USDA Hardiness Zone: 2 to 11
• Sun: Full sun
• Soil: They tolerate various soil types but prefer slightly neutral to slightly alkaline, not too rich, well-drained soil.
• Duration: Annual
• Bloom time: Summer to fall
• Water needs: Low to moderate
• Mature size: 1 to 5 feet tall and 1 to 3 feet wide
• Maintenance: Low

Cosmos flowers (Cosmos spp.) make great cut flowers to add to your vase or bouquet. Easy to grow and with a long blooming season, these beauties show their striking blooms up until fall, attracting pollinators, birds, and butterflies to your yard.

Most of the cosmos grown in the U.S. belong to 3 species: Cosmos atrosanguineus (chocolate cosmos), Cosmos bipinnatus (Mexican aster), and Cosmos sulphureus (orange cosmos).

Moss Rose

• USDA Hardiness Zone: 2 to 12
• Sun: Full sun
• Soil: Poor to average soils; dry to slightly moist, well-drained soil
• Duration: Annual
• Bloom time: Late spring to fall
• Water needs: Low
• Mature size: 3 to 6 inches
• Maintenance: Low

Also known as purslane, moss rose (Portulaca grandiflora) has delicate succulent leaves if you like to add interesting textures to your garden. Their petals resemble crepe paper and have a curious behavior: They typically open up on sunny days and close when it is cloudy and during the night.

Black-Eyed Susan

• USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 to 9
• Sun: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil: Moist, well-drained soil
• Duration: Annuals; short-lived perennials in zones 3 to 9
• Bloom time: Summer to fall
• Water needs: Moderate
• Mature size: 1 to 3 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide
• Maintenance: Low

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) is a native U.S. prairie flower known for its distinctive brown center and yellow, daisy-like petals. Especially attractive to butterflies, black-eyed Susans are some of the most drought-tolerant summer flowers on this list, working wonderfully in xeriscaping.

For Eddie Smith, Extension agent and county coordinator at Mississippi State University, black-eyed Susans are among the easiest summer flowers to grow, along with “monardas [bee balm], vincas, marigolds, petunias, salvias, coneflowers, and zinnias.”

Pro Tip: Smith recommends pairing black-eyed Susans with coneflowers and bee balm: “These three plants harmonize beautifully, offering a blend of colors and textures that draw the eye in different directions throughout the summer.”

“Echinacea (coneflower)… serves as a beautiful focal point. The golden-yellow, daisy-like petals of Black-eyed Susan, with their dark centers, bring brightness and warmth. Meanwhile, bee balm’s fluffy, fragrant flowers add both texture and scent, attracting a variety of pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.”

“This combination … is low-maintenance and will provide months of color while supporting local wildlife,” says Smith.

Egyptian Starflower

• USDA Hardiness Zone: 10 to 11
• Sun: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil: Moist, well-drained soil
• Duration: Can be grown as perennials in zones 10 and 11 and as annuals in colder zones
• Bloom time: Summer to fall. In tropical regions, it can bloom all year.
• Water needs: Moderate
• Mature size: 1 to 3 feet tall and 1 to 3 feet wide
• Maintenance: Low

The Egyptian starflower (Pentas lanceolata) gains its name due to its vibrant, star-shaped flowers that bloom in clusters. One of the summer flowers that bloom the longest, they can flower all year-round in tropical weather.

With a bushy growth habit, Egyptian starflowers are ideal to plant as borders or hedges. They are naturally appealing to pollinators, but the red variety is a favorite among butterflies.

Coleus

• USDA Hardiness Zone: 10 to 11
• Sun: Prefers partial shade, but tolerates full shade
• Soil: Moist, well-drained soils
• Duration: A tender perennial in hardiness zones 10 to 11, but needs to be brought inside during winter; can be grown as an annual in colder areas
• Bloom time: Has colorful foliage from spring to fall
• Water needs: Moderate
• Mature size: 1 to 3 feet tall and 1 to 3 feet wide
• Maintenance: Low

Flowers aren’t the only ones to steal the show with their extravagant colors. For Coleus scutellarioides, its foliage is the true showstopper. Also known as painted nettle, coleus has beautiful, exotic foliage that comes in different colors, from pink and purple to deep reds, yellow, and orange.

Perfect for shady spots, coleus can be planted in hanging baskets or as a companion for other shade plants.