1. Perennial Hibiscus – Show-stopping dinner plate-sized blooms in red, pink, white, including varieties that mix each color on every flower. Create your own backyard tropical paradise!
2. Coneflowers – This is THE classic native flower. It comes in lots of colors including in pink, neon pink, yellow, red, white, and even orange. Plus, it blooms on repeat.
3. Lavender – This is a super fragrant choice for that sunny, sandy, summer beach scene with lots of long-lasting flowers.
4. Coreopsis – A lacy, airy flower that reblooms with ease in the heat of summer. Keep them dry and hot for best results.
5. Daylily – This indestructible rebloomer does best along roadsides, walkways, and sunny hot locales everywhere.
6. False Sunflower – You can get tons of long-lasting color from this tall, narrow plant that loves to bake in the afternoon sun.
7. Black-eyed Susan – These bright yellow flowers bridge the gap between summer vacation and football season. Bring the summer to a close and ring in autumn all in one great plant.

Part of the reason why people can be so nervous to plant this time of the year is the heat! To put your mind at ease, why not bring on summer with these sun-loving, and heat-tolerant annuals!

Pentas – This is the best annual pollinator! if you have a butterfly garden, this is a must-have. It produces a large cluster of flowers that butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds just love.

Gazanias – Produces large vibrant flowers, which love to dry out in between watering.

Geraniums – An old favorite that’s drought tolerant and loves the summer heat.

Persian shield – A dark purple foliage plant with a surprisingly dark purple flower.

Portulaca – A great drought tolerant plant, that’s also highly recommended as a cemetery plant.

Lantana – It produces bright clusters of flowers that thrive on neglect. Hummingbirds and butterflies love this plant.

Heliotrope – A fragrant delight, with a deliciously sweet vanilla scent.

Evolvulus – This true blue flower loves extreme heat and summer sun.

Angelonia – A great thriller plant to add to your summer containers. It’s quite fragrant and produces color from head to toe.

Scaevola – A fan-type flower, that’s also super tough. It tolerates neglect and bounces right back.

Cuphea vermillionare – Hummingbird alert! This orange cigar plant is a must-have for any hummingbird lover to have in their garden.

With the recent extended period of dry weather, I thought this would be a great opportunity to highlight some of our Van Wilgen Grown, drought-tolerant perennials. While during the planting period these plants require water, one established these plants can survive on minimal supplemental water.