It's great to add bright colours, fast-growing plants, and flowers that love warm weather to your garden in the summer. You can keep your garden healthy in the heat by selecting the right summer garden plants. You can also help butterflies, bees, and other helpful pollinators by choosing plants that are right for the season.
This seasonal planting guide will help you figure out what to plant, why it's important to plant in the summer, and which plants will look beautiful all year. Whether you've been gardening for years or never have before, this easy-to-follow guide will help you plan the best garden for Summer 2025.
Why Choosing the Right Plants for Summer Matters
It's important to choose the right plants for summer, as flowers that prefer cooler weather can suffer in hot weather. When plants like it hot, they bloom longer, grow better, and need less care from you. This makes it easy to take care of your yard when it's hot outside.
Picking the right plants will also bring in bees. During the summer, birds, bees, and butterflies depend on places with lots of nectar. By planting flowers that bloom at the right time of year, you help these animals keep living their lives.
Less pests and problems also mean a good summer planting guide. When plants are right for the season, they don't have as much trouble, so your leaves, flowers, and dirt are all healthy.
Top Plants to Plant This Summer 2025
These best plants for summer do well in hot weather and have beautiful blooms, making them great for summer. These options are also great for people who want to make a garden that pollinators will love.
Milkweed
If you like butterflies, milkweed is one of the most important plants for the summer. As a host plant, milkweed is important for monarch butterflies. This makes it a great choice for people who want to help bees.
It's tough, likes the sun, and is easy to grow, so it's a great choice for any Summer Planting Tips list. At TN Nursery, you can find milkweed types that are good for you.
Echinacea Plant
The summer annual echinacea, which is also called coneflower, blooms for months on end. It does well in hot weather, dry soil, and bright sunlight.
It also produces a lot of nectar, which is why bees and butterflies visit it all summer. This is a great platform to find summer garden plants that will last. TN Nursery has this hardy plant that you can look at.
Blazing Star (Liatris)
Blazing Star has bright purple flowers that grow tall and attract butterflies. It does well even in bad soil and loves being in the sun.
This flower makes any plant look taller, more interesting and more colourful. This plant is a great choice if you want summer flowers that stand out. TN Nursery sells strong Blazing Star plants that are ready for the garden.
Native Perennials to Plant This Summer
Because they are already used to the weather, native summer perennials are some of the easiest plants to grow. They need less care and water, and every year they give you big flowers.
These are our top picks, some of which are new.
Purple coneflower is Echinacea purpurea. This natural plant blooms in the middle of summer and into the autumn. Its flowers are purple-pink and its centre is orange. It does best in full sun and dry to normal soil, which is great for summer plants.
Liatris spicata (also known as Blazing Star).
This plant makes a sunny border look taller and more interesting with its long spikes of purple flowers. This plant grows well in bad soil and is a great choice for one of the best summer plants.
Asclepias tuberosa (milkweed).
It's important for monarch butterflies, and it does best in full sun and poor, dry soil. It flowers from the middle of summer to the end of summer and attracts pollinators. If you care about the environment of your yard, this is a great plant to choose.
Monarda fistulosa (Wild Bergamot).
It comes from the mint family and has soft purple flowers. It does best in sun to part shade, can handle heat and drought once it's established, and bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies love it. Add this great tip to your list of summer growing ideas.
Rosa hirta, or Black-Eyed Susan
A traditional yard flower that has bright yellow petals and a dark centre. Once it's established, it can handle heat, humidity, and dryness, and it blooms all summer and into fall. It's one of the easiest summer plants for any grower to grow.
Chasmanthium latifolium (Northern Sea Oats)
This plant is pretty, and its flat, hanging seed heads add a delicate texture. It grows well in part shade and brings in birds and bugs. This is great if you have areas that don't get as much sun.
Fragaria virginiana (Wild Strawberry)
A ground cover that grows quickly and has pretty white flowers and tiny berries that you can eat. It does well in full sun to part shade and is good for wildlife. It's a nice addition to places under trees or along fences.
Carex appalachica (Appalachian Sedge).
Clumps of this sedge grow in shade to part sun and stay green all season, making it a great choice to replace lawn grass. It gives your yard character and low-maintenance cover.
By adding these extra plants, your blog now has a bigger range of native perennials for sun lovers, part-shade spots, ground covers, and decorative grasses, giving readers more options for what to plant this summer.
FAQ
What are the best plants to plant in summer 2025?
People like milkweed, echinacea and blazing star because they can handle heat and draw in helpful pollinators.
How do summer garden plants support pollinators?
Butterflies, bees and hummingbirds depend on plants that produce lots of nectar and pollen in the summer. Plants such as milkweed and coneflower keep pollinators busy and healthy.
Which perennials thrive in summer?
Blazing star, echinacea, black-eyed Susan, milkweed and coreopsis are hardy summer perennials that reappear year after year.
Is summer planting easy to maintain?
Plants that like heat grow better and have fewer problems when grown naturally.
What are the most colorful plants for summer gardens?
During the summer, coneflowers, blazing stars, zinnias, daylilies and milkweed blossom always and in bright colours.
