Spring comes, and Spring goes, and suddenly everyone thinks that the trees and shrubs are done blooming until next year.
No, not at all!
In fact this time of year is when you can find some plants that not only will provide you color further into the Summer season, but they also tend to be a little less overplanted and so can give your landscape a more unique look.
Here’s a few of our favorite Summer bloomers for you to take a look at:
Caryopteris (Bluebeard, Blue Mist Shrub)
Caryopteris
This woody perennial/shrub comes in many varieties, but the one common denominator amongst them all is the beautiful show of blue flowers throughout the Summer.
There is a good selection of foliage colors available depending on the variety chosen, including dusky blue, yellow, and variegated.
Caryopteris is pretty drought tolerant once it’s established.
The average size for this plant is about 3×3′, but there are dwarf varieties available that will stay more compact, and there are also some that will get a little larger.
Clethra alnifolia (Summersweet)
Clethra alnifolia
With a name like Summersweet you can pretty much tell what this plant is going to do for you!
During the Summer months this plant gets short spikes of sweetly fragrant blooms which hold up well.
The two most common varieties available are ‘Ruby Spice’, which gets a pretty pink bloom on it and will grow to about 7×5′, and ‘Hummingbird’ which is a more compact, mounding form with white blooms.
Clethra is a native plant, and can often be found in wetland areas, so is a good candidate for areas of your landscape that do not get good drainage.
Punicum granatum (Pomegranite)
Punica granatum
Most people, when thinking of Pomegranite, immediately think of just the fruit, and most likely they think of it sitting on a grocery store shelf somewhere!
Well, Pomegranite does in fact get beautiful blooms on it in the Summer. They are a rich and vibrant orange color, and provided the variety chosen is correct an edible fruit will follow along behind the blooms, extending their beauty into the Fall.
The variety you are most likely to encounter these days is ‘Compactum’, which stays a little tidier than the species, but does still produce a decent sized edible fruit on it.
Hibiscus syriacus (Rose of Sharon)
Hibiscus 'Blue Satin'
Rose of Sharon is, in fact, a pretty old fashioned shrub, and in the last several years it pretty much fell out of favor.
In recent years, however, there has been a resurgence in hybridizing of these shrubs, and some very pretty varieties have come out of that hybridization.
Two of our favorite introductions are ‘Blue Satin’ and ‘Violet Satin’, both of which are in the Proven Winners Color choice line of flowering shrubs. The Satin series of Hibiscus have extremely vibrant blooms, and the actual plant is much stronger growing than Hibiscus of old.
Due to the size that these shrubs are capable of getting to (about 8×6′) they can also be trained as a small tree, which can make them look truly spectacular.
Buddleia (Butterfly Bush)
Buddleia
Another one that has been around for a long time, but this is also another one that some very cool stuff has been happening with recently. There have been some nice variations on color brought into the marketplace, and even a truly compact form has been hybridized.
The compact form is ‘Lo & Behold Blue Chip’ which keeps such a neat and tidy habit that it is also cpable of being used in mixed containers.
Our favorite new color introduction is called ‘Miss Ruby’ which gets an absolutely beautiful vibrant, yes you guessed it, ruby bloom on a plant that grows to about 5′ tall.
Of course don’t forget about the other old stand by’s such as Lagerstroemia (Crape Myrtle), Hydrangea paniculata (Panicled Hydrangea), and Knock Out Roses – Yes, Knock Out Roses have become an old stand by!
So there you have it, some of the plants that may not have crossed your mind, but are definitely worth a look to extend your gardens color palette well into the late Summer. There is no reason to confine your shrubbery to just Spring blooming selections when there is such a great array of choices available to keep on blooming all through the Summer!