Uncover the Secrets to a Low-Maintenance Summer Garden

Creating a vibrant, low-maintenance garden that blooms all summer is achievable with the right perennials. Based on expert recommendations and gardening resources, here are top picks that combine fast growth, enduring blooms, and easy care.

thrives in full sun and spreads quickly, offering golden-yellow flowers with dark centers. Its drought tolerance and ability to naturalize make it ideal for filling empty spaces.

provides bold purple, pink, or white blooms from June through August. Known for attracting pollinators, this hardy plant self-seeds readily and thrives in well-drained soil.

delivers feathery foliage and clusters of tiny flowers in shades of yellow, pink, or white. It blooms from late spring to fall, requires minimal watering, and spreads rapidly in sunny spots.

offers silvery-green foliage and lavender-blue flowers that bloom repeatedly from late spring to midsummer. Its sprawling habit fills gaps quickly, and it thrives in dry, well-drained soil.

produce trumpet-shaped blooms in various colors from late spring to fall. These vigorous perennials adapt to most soil types and require division every few years to maintain health.

For continuous color, prioritize plants like yarrow and catmint, which rebloom after deadheading. Pair coneflowers and black-eyed susans for a pollinator-friendly display. All selections listed thrive in USDA zones 3–9 and tolerate dry conditions once established.