Low-Maintenance Summer Flowers for a Zone 7 Weekend Home

Plant Once, Enjoy All Season: Annuals, Perennials & Bulbs for Absentee Gardeners

Full sun, minimal visits, general help only. Focus on self-sufficient plants.

Annuals (No Fertilizer!)

• White/pink petunias (deadhead often, shear ½ monthly)
• White sweet alyssum (fragrant, shear monthly)
• Blue lobelia (shade-tolerant)
• Bachelor buttons (tall blue, self-sow)
• Yellow marigolds (deadhead daily, shear monthly)

Rule: Water deeply daily. Never fertilize—rich soil = foliage, no flowers.

Perennials (Low Input)

• Oriental poppies (Memorial Day bloom, drainage critical)
• Yellow heliopsis (tall, vivid, sun + water)
• Hydrangeas (shrub, mid-summer blue, space generously)
• Delphiniums (if help can stake; disbud June for Aug/Sept bloom)

Bulbs (Plant & Forget)

• Alliums (May–June, sun + rainwater only)

Sources

Graceful Gardens, Bluestone Perennials, Brent & Becky's Bulbs.