Five Summer All-Stars

Only the toughest perennials can endure summer’s long, hot, sunny days. But tough perennials can still be beautiful and charming—like these five recommended by Jeff Cox, author of Perennial All-Stars.

‘Goblin’ Blanket Flower
Gaillardia x grandiflora 'Goblin'
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 3 to 9
Blooms: June to August
Height x Width: 1 X 1.5 feet
Flower color: Red, yellow, and maroon
Light requirements: Full sun

Blanket flower is a durable plant, too, with a toughness that comes from its origins in western North America. It can survive in hot, dry soil, in poor soil, and even in seaside conditions. The lifespan of any individual ‘Goblin’ is variable, and this is perhaps its only flaw. Some may die out after 2 years; others may live on for many more. In cold regions where snow cover is chancy, a layer of leaf mulch will help it through the winter.

‘Goblin’ has 3-to-4-inch-wide flowers with dark purplish maroon centers and ray petals of rich red tipped with bright golden yellow. ‘Goblin’ begins blooming in June and continues through the summer.

If you plant ‘Goblin’ in rich, moist garden loam, it will tend to lose its compact habit and may sprawl. This plant is more at home in average or even poor soil and asks only for good drainage in order to thrive.

‘Goblin’ is a supremely useful plant on south-facing banks, in thin soils, and in other trouble spots where more finicky perennials won’t grow. Its low habit and masses of warm-colored flowers make ‘Goblin’ just right for growing at the front of a planting of taller perennials in other warm shades or in cooler blue tones.

Photo: (cc)Far Out Flora/Flickr

Red Valerian
Centranthus ruber
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
Blooms: Late June to August, then reblooms to frost
Height x Width: 3 X 3 feet
Flower color: Varies from mauve-pink to lilac-red to strong red
Light requirements: Full sun to partial shade

If every perennial were as easy to grow as red valerian, we could plant up a garden and forget it. Red valerian's thousands of tiny florets cluster in dense showy heads held above bushy, fleshy, gray-green foliage. The flowers have a nice but not strong fragrance, and the flowerheads will last a full week when cut for an arrangement in the house.

Red valerian thrives in just about any soil and conditions except wet, boggy shade. It is drought-tolerant to the point where it naturalizes in many parts of the West where summer water is sparse.

Use red valerian to bring easy, long-lasting color to steep banks, on rough slopes, or along the roadside. Some people might describe its growth habit as “floppy,” but I prefer to call it “relaxed.” Either way, red valerian looks lovely growing where it can cascade gracefully—over a wall, for instance.

Photo: (cc) Clatie K/Flickr

‘Moonbeam’ Threaded Coreopsis
Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 3 to 9
Blooms: June to frost
Height x Width: 2 feet X 18 inches
Flower color: Pale yellow
Light requirements: Full sun to partial shade

The first thing you notice about this all-star is the beautiful, pale yellow color of its wide, daisylike flowers. The color looks good with just about any other color in the garden. The flowers are neat and tidy with dark, golden centers and are produced in upright, wiry-stemmed sprays that cover the tops of the foliage from late June all the way to the frost.

In addition to its galaxy of golden flowers, ‘Moonbeam’ has fine, ferny, threadlike foliage. Given all the large-leaved plants in the perennial garden, what a relief to have an all-star with foliage that can provide some contrast.

Don’t worry about the soil where you’re planting ’Moonbeam’ coreopsis. It can be average or poor, and as long as it’s well-drained, it can even be droughty. ‘Moonbeam’ will continue to bloom and look fine, so you don't have to worry about a lot of watering during the summer.

Although ‘Moonbeam’ prefers a sunny spot, it performs well in partial shade. Don’t worry about the effects of heat and humidity if you live in the South—this plant is native from Maryland to Florida and west to Alabama and Arkansas.

The pale yellow ‘Moonbeam’ flowers contrast beautifully with rich purples and blues, and is one of the few yellow shades that sets off pink hues to advantage. Create drifts of ‘Moonbeam’ to tie together stronger flower colors and bolder foliage textures in your perennial garden. ‘Moonbeam’ makes a great container plant, too, and is tough enough to fill a hanging basket in a sunny spot.

Photo: (cc) Tom Beck/Flickr

‘Pink Jewel’ Daisy Fleabane
Erigeron speciosus ‘Pink Jewel’
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 4 to 9
Blooms: June to September
Height x Width: 2 X 2 feet
Flower color: Bright pink with yellow centers
Light requirements: Full sun

The durability of fleabanes reflects their origins in western North America, from the Pacific Northwest down to Mexico. They are truly garden workhorses, blooming from June right through the hot summer into September.

The flowers reach 2 inches across, with prominent centers that change from green to yellow. A profusion of slender ray petals, resembling finely cut fringe, surrounds the centers. The petal color is a bright, striking pink with a hint of blue in the hue.

This plant is tough enough for full, hot sun, but also tolerates light shade. ‘Pink Jewel’ is a true low-maintenance plant, with one caveat: Every couple of years, dig the clumps out in the fall, cut off the spent foliage and flowerstalks, and replant the divisions. This will keep ‘Pink Jewel’ at its peak of flower production and looking daisy fresh.

‘Pink Jewel’ is a first-class border plant. It looks good in front of stone walls, and has a definite place in the sunny perennial garden. The plants hold their flowers atop long stalks that lend themselves to cutting for arrangements in the house.

Photo: (cc) Ceasol/Flickr

‘Hidcote’ English Lavender
Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote'
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
Blooms: June to August
Height x Width: 18 X 18 inches
Flower color: Deep blue-purple
Light requirements: Full sun

‘Hidcote’ has a compact form that grows 12 to 18 inches tall. Its slender flower spikes are tipped with a few inches of tightly bunched, dark blue-purple flowers.

Lavender is a tough plant that can withstand dry soil, but too much moisture is its enemy, especially in heavy soils where winters are cold and wet. Plant it where good drainage will keep it from rotting away during the winter months, and go easy on moisture-holding mulches. English lavender endures even the heat of the Deep South—but it is not so long lived there as it is in more temperate regions.

Keep Reading: 10 Ways to Conserve Water

Photo: (cc) Pressebereich Dehner Garten-Center/Flickr