Your Guide to Summer Planting for Stunning Outdoor Spaces
Summer is officially here, and with it comes a whole world of colour. Your garden should come alive this season, with flowers reaching their full blooming cycle and pollinators getting to work at all hours of the day. If your garden does not feel like a hub of activity yet, then it is likely that you need a planting refresh.
Plenty of plants are in their prime during the summer, giving you a lot of opportunity to create a vibrant garden for the season. As leading landscape gardeners, Green Acorn Landscape Design understands what it takes for a garden to be successful and can provide planting recommendations for every season.
In this post, we are sharing our guide to summer planting to get you inspired and encourage you to enjoy the season outdoors.
What Should I Plant This Summer?
At Green Acorn Landscape Design, we appreciate that every garden is unique, so there is no one-size-fits-all solution to planting. As summer is a vibrant season, with many plants reaching their full blooming phase at this time, there is no shortage of planting options available.
To accommodate all needs and ensure there is something for every kind of landscape, we are sharing summer planting guides for specific areas of your garden, such as:
Summer Flowering Favourites: For Colour And Visual Appeal
Add a pop of colour to your landscape this season with beautiful flowers and blooming plants. There are various kinds of flowers available during this season, each offering its own visual appeal, textures and fragrances to complement all needs.
Based on the kind of garden design you have and your landscaping skills, you may want to consider the following for summer colour:
- Sun-Loving Perennials: Perennials are long-lasting flowers that will return in your garden every year, offering you continued sources of colour and visual appeal. Many perennials, such as coreopsis, rudbeckia and echinacea, thrive in full sun, making them ideal for summer planting. They also offer the additional benefit of attracting pollinators, such as bees and butterflies.
- Fast-Growing Annuals: Plants such as cosmos, zinnias, and marigolds are quick-blooming, making them a wonderful solution for late summer planting and adding last-minute appeal. As they complete their life cycle within one season, these plants are a beautiful addition to your summer garden.
- Climbing Plants: Ideal for small gardens or those seeking renewed interest, climbing flowers such as sweet peas, morning glory, and clematis add height and vertical interest to the landscape. They can be trained against pergolas, fences or retaining walls to add colour to all corners of the landscape.
Summer Planting Ideas For Containers And Patios
Container planting is a versatile option that allows you to adjust your landscape to accommodate events or how you feel. It is also an ideal option for those seeking a low-maintenance garden, as container planting supports better soil conditions and moisture.
Those with smaller, tricky-shaped gardens, large patio areas, or simply desire a flexible option should consider container summer planting in the Thriller-Filler-Spiller for maximum appeal. This is a popular, easy-to-follow planting method that creates diverse displays in containers and pots, as well as being useful for borders, flower beds and other planters.
Thriller – The Focal Point
These summer planting ideas are the main appeal of containers and flower beds. These are the focal points and, therefore, the most eye-catching plants. They can add height, colour, or interest to your container summer planting displays, with options such as:
- Ornamental grasses, like Pennisetum or Carex to provide height and texture
- Tall flowering plants, such as Cannas, Salvias, or Cordyline, for height, colour and seasonal interest
- Upright shrubs provide structure, foliage, and colour, with options such as Lavatera or small Hydrangeas.
Filler – Volume And Colour
These are often mid-height summer plants that fill out containers and flower beds for a more structured, detailed display. Filler summer planting ideas should complement the main focal point of your display and can offer colour and texture, such as:
- Traditional border flowers, such as Geraniums, Petunias, and Heucheras, for colour and seasonal interest
- Hardy herbs like thyme or oregano will add texture and scent to your displays, filling out the container and keeping it low-maintenance throughout the summer
- Ferns or leafy perennials provide texture and can fill out a lot of space for depth and detail
Spiller – A Cascading Element
These summer planting ideas are ideal for raised planters and hanging baskets, as they spill over to provide another element to your displays. As they cascade over the edge of the container, they add movement and flow to the design, making them more interesting and attractive.
You can use these flowers and plants for colour or texture, such as:
- Trailing Lobelia
- Bacopa
- Ivy
- Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia)
Drought-Resistant Summer Planting To Beat The Heat
While the dry, hot weather may be ideal for spending time outdoors and enjoying your garden, it can cause issues for your plants. When planting in the height of the season, consider drought-tolerant species that do not require as much water, such as:
- Lavender: A staple of British gardens, lavender is a hardy shrub that provides stunning purple flowers in the height of summer as well as a soothing fragrance that can flow through the landscape and into your home throughout the season.
- Salvia: Similar in structure and colour to lavender, these summer planting solutions produce tall, purple flowers with a bell shape that attract pollinators and also produce a sweet, calming fragrance at the height of the season.
- Sedum: One of the best options for low-maintenance gardening, these summer plants can be added to containers, flower beds and borders to provide depth with their waxy green leaves, as well as a pop of colour in summer with their pink and purple flowers.
Although these summer planting ideas do not require as much maintenance as many others across your garden, there are some ways you can support their growth. Mulching is one of the best methods for low-maintenance gardening, as it helps to maintain soil moisture and conditions without additional work.
Edible Plants For A Summer Harvest
Edible planting is one of the biggest garden design trends of the year, and summer is a great time to get involved. There are several quick-win summer planting ideas to diversify your displays, such as:
- Lettuce
- Radishes
- Coriander
- Mint
Ideal for home-grown summer salads or as a form of companion planting, these herbs and vegetables are a great option this season.
Companion planting is an effective method for low-maintenance gardening, as it allows plants to support each other and offer specific benefits to your displays. For example, planting specific herbs in the same containers as your flowers can prevent pests or enhance soil conditions organically, making things easier for you this summer.
Conclusion
Celebrate the vibrancy of the season with these summer planting ideas and ensure your garden is alive with colour, scents, and texture. All kinds of flowers and plants come into their own during the summer, and you can take full advantage of this right now to create an attractive landscape.
With options for colourful flowers, tall grasses, and even fragrant herbs, there is certainly something for everyone in this summer planting guide.
For additional support and advice regarding your summer garden, consider working with professional landscapers like Green Acorn Landscape Design. We offer professional garden design and landscaping services throughout the year to bring out the best in your landscape no matter the season.
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Are you ready to transform your garden? Contact the team today to learn more about our services or to request a quote.
