Snapdragons showcase summer’s ebullience.

Photo by Maryeoriginals via Wikimedia Commons

When planning on how to design a garden, think about how to keep the flowers blooming all summer long. Here’s a plant list and gardening advice from The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

The ideal summer flower garden develops in waves, reaches crescendos of bloom, and depends on chronological succession.

What combinations of plants will keep your garden colorful all summer long? Here are some suggestions.

Early Summer

Bleeding hearts
Delphinium
Early roses (Rosa hugonis; damask, eglantine, and gallica roses)
Iris magnifica
Oriental poppy
Peony

Midsummer

Astilbes
Bee balm
Daylilies (try ‘Stella de Oro’)
Early-blooming white phlox
Hollyhock
Hollyhock mallow
Regal lily and Asian hybrids such as ‘Enchantment’
Snakeroot

Late Summer

Asters
Fall-blooming anemones
Globe thistle
Harrington’s pink aster
Japanese iris
Late lilies and daylilies
Monkshood
Pink and white phlox
Tiger lily
White boltonia

• Choose flowers for their color, beauty, and fragrance, of course—but also consider the season in which they bloom.
   
• Avoid planting midsummer bloomers all in one spot; instead, distribute groups of them throughout the garden. This will draw the visitor’s eyes through the whole area, creating the effect of a greater expanse of color.
   

Source: 

The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Garden Wisdom. This article was originally published in 2009 and has been updated.