Summer Plants for Wisconsin
When my schedule gets busy, I appreciate the summer plants that just keep on going. Get the most out of your summer plants. Mix some perennials in with the shrubs. You'll get more summer blooms. The perennials and shrubs here are less maintenance and more beauty.
Hummingbird Clethra / Clethra alnifolia 'Hummingbird'
5' high x 4' wide, Full Sun - Shade
White flower spikes are sweetly scented. Any of the clethra are a good choice for easy, scented flowers. They take more shade than many other flowering shrubs.
"Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder"
Carefree Beauty Shrub Rose / Rosa 'Carefree Beauty'
4' high x 4' wide, Full Sun
If you love roses, but not the upkeep every winter, try Carefree Beauty. Double, pink blooms on a disease-resistant shrub. I highly recommend it.
Dwarf Garland Spirea / Spiraea arguta 'Compacta'
4' high x 4' wide, Full Sun
Both Dwarf Garland and it's larger cousin Renaissance Spirea / Spiraea x vanhouttei 'Renaissance' have been favorites of gardeners for years. Their arching branches are loaded with white blooms. Blooms in May.
Red Prince Weigela / Weigela florida 'Red Prince'
6' high x 6' wide, Full Sun
Gotta have red? One of the reddest blooms I've seen is on this summer-blooming shrub. The deep green foliage really sets them off.
Goat's Beard / Aruncus dioicus
5' high x 5' wide, Part - Full Shade
Try this one if you're having trouble getting blooms in the shade. Also comes in a dwarf variety.
Shasta Daisy / Leucanthemum x superbum 'Alaska'
24" high x 24" wide, Full Sun
Another classic for the flower bouquet, this one has white petals with a yellow center. It's adaptable to most soils.
Threadleaf Coreopsis / Coreopsis rosea
10" high x 20" wide, Full Sun
Tiny, daisy-like flowers cover this plant. It's usually yellow blooms now also come in pink. It is a self-sower, and I don't usually deadhead this one.
Make sure you don't trim the spent foliage until early spring.
TIP
For less maintenance, limit the number of varieties of plants that you have. If you have one of each kind, you'll have more maintenance.
Using a plant more than once also gives your garden a 'pulled-together' look.
Purple Coneflower / Echinacea purpurea
40" high x 36" wide, Full Sun
A larger perennial with daisy-type flowers in a purple/pink. Another great summer plant for bouquets. The flowers last a long time.
Baby's Breath / Gypsophila paniculata
36" high x 36" wide, Full Sun
Can you tell I like to bring my garden indoors? I've always been enchanted with the cloud of tiny flowers on baby's breath. They would be lovely in a cottage garden.
Stella d'Oro Daylily / Hemerocallis 'Stella de Oro'
15" high x 15" wide, Full - Part Sun
While all daylilies are pretty easy-going, Stella sets the standard. Each large yellow bloom only lasts a day, but is replaced the next day by another. For this reason, you get blooms for a long time. An added bonus is the grassy leaves which look great.
May Night Meadow Sage / Salvia x sylvestris 'May Night'
18" high x 24" wide, Full Sun
Salvias take the heat and keep on giving blooms. The purple flower spikes add a different texture to the mixed garden. Planted in a large group, they're striking.
Summer plants need to be able to take care of themselves. Especially because we're all so busy having fun, easy-care bloomers are great. Good planning will give you the best blooms for the least work.
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