7 plants for long-lasting summer colour

The question I’m asked more than any other: “How do I keep the garden looking good all summer, not just for a few weeks in June?” The answer is choosing plants that flower for months, not days. Here are seven I return to again and again.

1. Salvia ‘Caradonna’

Deep violet spires from May to October if you cut it back after the first flush. It loves sun, shrugs off drought and the bees adore it. I use it as a rhythm plant, repeated through a border to tie everything together.

2. Geranium ‘Rozanne’

Possibly the hardest-working perennial in any garden. Saucers of violet-blue from June until the frosts, weaving politely between its neighbours. It thrives in sun or part shade and never needs staking.

3. Echinacea purpurea

Big, confident daisies in pink and white from July to September, and then the seedheads stand right through winter, feeding the birds and catching the frost. Give it sun and decent drainage.

4. Persicaria amplexicaulis

Slender crimson pokers from midsummer until October, in sun or part shade, on almost any soil. Brilliant for the later border when other plants are flagging.

5. Verbena bonariensis

Tall, airy and see-through, so you can plant it anywhere, even at the front of a border. Butterflies queue up for it, and it flowers for four months solid.

6. Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’

A billowing haze of soft lavender-blue from early June. Shear it back by half in midsummer and it will do it all over again. Wonderful spilling over paths and softening hard edges.

7. Dahlias

Not strictly a perennial in cold gardens, but nothing else delivers such generous colour from July until the first frost. Deadhead weekly, and cut armfuls for the house. The more you pick, the more they flower.

The secret is in the layering

A border built only from long-flowering plants can feel a little relentless. The trick is layering these reliable performers with bulbs for spring, grasses for movement and evergreens for winter structure, so the garden always has a next act ready.

Want a border that performs from January to December? Get in touch, planting plans are what we love best.