Part of planting a spectacular garden is figuring out what part of the garden gets the most sun and what part tends to stay in the shade. In the highest heat of the summer it’s important to know which plants can handle the heat and which can’t. Read on to learn about heat tolerant flowers that will fill your yard with show-stopping color and bloom.
Angelonia
Angelonia is a great flowering plant for your outdoor containers. It produces colorful spikes flowers in purple, pink, mauve, blue or white and can bloom all summer long. Angelonia is considered an annual, but if you live in a frost-free area they will come bloom another year. This flower grows best in full sun and well-drained soil. It also tolerates drought-like conditions and takes heat and humidity well. For these reasons, angelonia is perfect for beginning gardeners.
Begonias
Found in tropical and subtropical areas, this beautiful flowering plant produces asymmetrical, patterned and variegated foliage that does well in hot, humid weather. Begonias can be either grown indoors or outdoors, producing plants that differ in height from 6- to 12-inch houseplants to bushes reaching 5 feet tall or more. Begonias can begin to bloom in early summer and will continue to produce bright, colorful flowers until frost.
Cosmos
One of the best reasons to grow cosmos flowers in your garden is that they attract beneficial insects like bees and butterflies. Cosmos flowers, which resemble daisies with their evenly placed, open petals, provide easy access to nectar and pollen, attract lacewings, tachinid flies and hoverflies which feed on pest insects you don’t want in your garden. They thrive in hot conditions with little water and seem to do best in poor soils. The cosmos’ blooms can last for many months and their petals are even edible!
Lantana
Bring tropical color into your garden with these heat-loving plants whose cluster of blooms come in many shades of pink, orange, red, yellow and white. Lantana thrives in full sun and should only be watered when the soil is dry. Lantana is drought tolerant and beloved by butterflies!
Portulaca
Portulaca, often called moss rose plants, are popular plants in the spring. Known for their drought tolerance, this low-growing annual flower can, depending on the variety, have semi-double to fully double flowers that resemble miniature roses. Portulaca have succulent leaves and come in colors as varied as yellow, orange, red, bright pink, cream and white. They hold up to strong winds and serve as ground cover, making them perfect for a small garden or a rock garden.
Canna Lilies
Canna Lily is a perennial plant that blooms tropical-like foliage with large, colorful flowers that look a bit like irises. Plant canna lilies in the spring to give them time to get established in your garden which will lead to beautifully intense blooms in the summer. Canna lilies are low maintenance and like plenty of heat and full sun. The canna lily’s flower color can vary from red to orange to yellow.
Impatiens SunPatiens
SunPatiens were developed specifically to thrive in the heat and direct sunlight. With blooms in coral, red, pink, orange, lilac, lavender or white depending on the variety, SunPatiens can be incorporated anywhere, but thrive particularly well as a bedding plant or in a container. If you are a hummingbird lover, this is the flower for you, as SunPatiens tend to be one of the birds’ favorites.
Gardening can be a labor of love, all of which can be damaged by strong summer storms. Call Ned Stevens today to make sure your gutters are working properly for the summer. Gutters not only protect your home, by diverting any rain runoff away from your lawn and garden, they protect your hard work too!
