Summer Planting
Homes & Gardens: How to Grow Zinnias (photo by Leigh Clapp)
Bring your garden to life this summer with the season’s most popular, reliable plants—chosen for long bloom times, low maintenance, and high impact. Whether you want bold color, fragrant accents, or drought-tolerant ease, these selections deliver beautiful results with minimal fuss.
Top picks for summer success
Petunias — Classic and versatile, petunias offer nonstop color in beds, borders, and containers. Choose trailing varieties for hanging baskets or mounding types for ground cover. They tolerate heat well and respond to deadheading for extended blooms.
Geraniums — Durable and dependable, geraniums thrive in full sun and bring strong, saturated hues. They’re ideal for window boxes and patios, resist pests, and require only moderate watering.
Marigolds — Bright, sunny marigolds are heat-loving and pest-resistant, making them perfect for vegetable gardens and borders. Their compact habit and continuous blooms make them low-maintenance crowd-pleasers.
Salvias — Salvias add vertical interest and attract pollinators. Available in many colors, they stand up to heat and drought and are excellent for both cutting gardens and perennial borders.
Zinnias — Fast-growing and bold, zinnias deliver vibrant, long-lasting blooms that excel in mass plantings and mixed containers. They’re especially good for cutting and bring immediate summer impact.
Lantana — Lantana tolerates heat and poor soils while producing clusters of multi-hued flowers. It’s tough, drought-friendly, and a magnet for butterflies—great for low-water landscapes and sunny containers.
Coneflowers (Echinacea) — A perennial favorite, coneflowers bloom through summer into fall, offering sturdy stems and long-lasting flowers that attract bees and butterflies. They’re drought-tolerant and require little care once established.
Coreopsis — Coreopsis provides cheerful, daisy-like flowers with long bloom periods and excellent heat tolerance. It’s a natural choice for sunny borders and cottage-style gardens.
Hibiscus (tropical) — For dramatic, tropical flair, hibiscus produces large, showy blooms all summer. Best in containers or sheltered beds where they receive full sun and regular watering.
Agapanthus — Agapanthus delivers architectural clumps of strap-like foliage and globe-shaped flower heads. It’s ideal for edging, massing, and container displays, and it handles summer heat well.
Four hanging baskets of petunias made a super-quick way to fill these irrigated planter boxes at IWI’s Hilltop home
Why these plants matter now
Extended bloom periods: Most of these choices will flower continuously through the hottest months, giving immediate and sustained color.
Low-maintenance performance: Heat and drought tolerance, pest resistance, and easy care help you spend more time enjoying your garden, less time on upkeep.
Versatility: Suitable for beds, borders, containers, hanging baskets, and pollinator-friendly plantings—mix and match for layered textures and color schemes.
Pollinator benefits: Many selections support bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, boosting garden vitality and biodiversity.
Long Island Natives: Coreopsis: Vibrant Daisy-Like Flowers for Your Garden
How to get the best results
Site selection: Match plants to sun exposure—most favorites listed prefer full sun (6+ hours daily).
Soil and watering: Use well-draining soil and water deeply but infrequently to encourage strong roots. Mulch to conserve moisture and suppress weeds.
Fertilize lightly: A balanced, slow-release fertilizer at planting and a light feed mid-season keeps blooms vigorous.
Deadhead and prune: Remove spent flowers on annuals to extend bloom time; trim back leggy growth to maintain shape.
Gardenista: Salvias: Late-Season Saviors in the Garden
Ready-made combinations
Sunny container: Petunias, lantana, and trailing verbena for color and spill.
Pollinator mix: Coneflowers, salvias, zinnias, and coreopsis to attract bees and butterflies.
Heat-tolerant border: Marigolds, salvias, agapanthus, and coneflowers for long-lasting structure and color.
K. van Bourgondien: How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Echinacea
Bring these summer favorites into your landscape for immediate payoff in color, resilience, and seasonal enjoyment. Irwin Weiner Interiors works with top landscaping firms; let us help you design a planting plan tailored to your garden’s sun exposure, soil type, and style preferences.