Best Perennials for Summer in Ohio
The summer sun is shining in Ohio, which means it’s time for outdoor fun! Make your garden a great place for family activities by brightening up your yard with colorful summer flowers. Here are some of our favorite, easy-to-care-for and low-maintenance perennial flowers for Ohio gardens.
Why Plant Perennials in Summer in Ohio?
Perennials are low-maintenance plants that will quickly become every gardener’s best friend. These wonderful plants will continue to return to your garden each year despite harsh weather conditions, which makes them perfect contenders to withstand Ohio winters. Also, these versatile flowers will add a cheerful splash of color that you and local pollinators will love.
Lavender
This tried and true smell-good plant is a classic for a reason. Pleasant on the senses and easy to grow, lavender is a must have for any garden.
Make sure to get the right variety of lavender for Ohio's climate. English lavenders are best for Ohio gardens because they will survive through Ohio's cold seasons and tough out the humidity that comes with warmer months.
How to Grow
Though lavender is the garden companion that keeps on giving, there’s a bit of thoughtful consideration that goes into caring for these plants. You’ll want to keep in mind the big three requirements for a successful bloom: lots of sunlight, little water, and plenty of drainage space.
Your lavender plants love the summer sun too and will need around 6 to 8 hours of direct light to thrive. For its first season, regularly want your plant. But lavender becomes a drought-tolerant plant once it's established and will need little (or even no) water. For more detailed information on how to grow lavender, check out our post on “How to Grow Lavender in Ohio and What to Plant with Lavender.”
Garden Phlox
Garden phlox will brighten up any Ohio garden with full, colorful blooms. Whether you prefer pink, purple, red, or blue, garden phlox is easy on the eyes and serves as a helpful companion plant for its fellow perennials.
How to Grow
Garden phlox plays by many of the same rules that lavender does. Plant garden phlox in a location that regularly sees lots of sunlight and has swift drainage. Garden phlox needs even moisture in its soil to thrive.
Yarrow
These gorgeous, tightly knit flowers are native to Ohio and sure to fit into your vision for that perfect summer garden. Their floral umbrellas provide the perfect amount of shade for local pollinators, including bees and butterflies, while shaking off the troubles of typical garden pests.
How to Grow
While Yarrow is largely resistant to harsh weather, be sure that you plant yarrow once the threat of frost has passed. In Ohio, the ideal window would be from May to August. Provide plenty of space so yarrow can grow to its full potential by placing each plant 1 to 2 feet apart.
Coneflower
Coneflowers belong to the daisy family and can give your garden a classic yellow and white backsplash or stand out with its beautiful pink and orange varieties. Ultimately, you can’t go wrong with allowing a few to sprout up between your garden beds to fill in space in your garden. Coneflowers also give butterflies and birds something eat and will attract local pollinators to your garden.
How to Grow
For coneflowers to thrive, give them adequate space and the right soil. Dig a spot to accommodate the plant's root ball. The growing space should be at least double the size of the root ball and a minimum of 12 inches deep.
Give coneflower 6-8 hours of daily sunlight and moderate watering. Prune coneflower throughout Ohio's colder months to promote regrowth.
Butterfly Bush
A plant with a fun name and even more fun flowers, this plant will add intrigue and beauty to your garden. With a wonderful fragrance that entices your pollinator friends, you definitely don’t want to overlook butterfly bush.
This impressive flowering shrub grows quickly, and its flowers s come in white, yellow, pink, and blue. Hummingbirds, honeybees, and butterflies adore the plant’s nectar-rich flowers.
How to Grow
Consistent with many of its other perennial friends, butterfly bush likes full sun, moderate watering, and reliable drainage. Ensure that they have medium-moisture as too much water or too little water will hurt the plant. Weekly watering or simply rainwater should suffice.
Speedwell
Speedwells may look like your lavender flowers, but they are special because of their spiky blooms and long-lasting flowers. These plants can grow to create a colorful carpet in your garden. Speedwell flowers come in purple, pink, white, and blue.
How to Grow
These drought-tolerant plants love full sun and well-draining soil. If you want to give your garden a “carpet look” with speedwells, then give the plant rocky, low fertility soil. If you want tall speedwells, then give the plant fertile soil with compost amendments.
Visit Timbuk Farms for Summer Gardening Plants and Supplies
If any of these lovely flowers caught your eye, be sure to come down to Timbuk Farms! Our garden center has the healthiest plants in Ohio. Plus, we’re a family-owned business and we grow our plants locally here in Ohio.
We’d love to help create your vision for that ideal summer garden as the warmer season begins. Whether you need help with growing tips, gathering additional garden supplies, or pairing plants together, we are happy to assist both in store and through our online contact form. We're know Ohio gardening, and our knowledgeable staff is ready to help make your summer garden dreams come true.
