Most perennials have a 3-4 week window where they really shine. If you have a smaller yard, where every plant needs to shine all the time, you may want to add some (or all) of these heavy bloomers to your garden, where they will bloom for months.
- Rozanne Geranium (Geranium 'Gerwat' ROZANNE) Rozanne blooms from May to a frost and is exceptional at dealing with heat and humidity. You can always cut it back to encourage new blooms, but that is not necessary. It’s covered with hundreds of pretty blue blooms most of the summer, only taking short breaks here and there. Zone 5-8, full sun to part shade, 16”x24”
- Bear’s Breeches (Acanthus 'Summer Beauty’) is grown as much for their glossy, arching, spiked leaves as it is for ins towers of bi-color flowers that appear in June and persist through to autumn. Bear’s Breeches are a fun addition to a partly shaded garden, a truly outstanding silhouette where the usual hostas and ferns usually rule. Zone 5-9, part shade, 3’x3’
- At Last Rose is a non-stop shrub rose with peach-colored flowers that don’t stop all summer. The best thing about this heavy hitter is that the blooms are fragrant, which is something that all-season-long blooming roses have been missing until this point. As is common with shrub roses, little or no care is required. You can conserve your efforts for snipping off some of these delicious blooms to bring inside and put in a vase. Zone 5-9, full sun, 3’x3’
- Gayfeather ‘Kobold’ (Liatris spicata 'Kobold') blooms for over a month and then the tall flower spike persists throughout the autumn and into winter, giving bords a place to perch and snack on its seed. Somewhat slow to establish, once it has moved in it’s there to stay. Zone 3-8, full sun, 30”x12”
- Leopard Plant (Ligularia 'Britt Marie Crawford') The real star here isn’t the flowers, but the glossy, plum-colored, rounded leaves held aloft by rigid stems. When the orange, daisy-like flowers appear above that foliage it’s really quite a show. Especially in the shade garden where shades are more subdued. The flowers persist into late summer. Zone 4-8, part shade to full shade, 36”x24”
- Kalimeris (Kalimeris incisa 'Blue Star') is an underused perennial, with tiny daisy-like blue blooms that start in June and don’t stop. It requires no care or special consideration, indeed it excels in both drought and wet conditions. Zone 5-9, full sun to part shade, 16”x16”
- Butterfly Bush (Buddleiadavidii) blooms from June to frost with little to zero encouragement. A subshrub, butterfly bush is cut down to about 6 inches in late winter and grows to its summer height of 5 feet by 5 feet, practically overnight. The flowers are richly honey-scented and can often be found covered with butterflies and other pollinators. Zone 5-9, full sun, 5’x5’
