Blanket Flower
Gaillardia
Native to the American prairies, gaillardia, commonly called blanket flower, is a tough, drought-resistant, sun-loving perennial that's super easy to grow. Blanket flower's festive, solid or patterned flowers in red, orange, or yellow appear...
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Bolivian Sunset Gloxinia
Gloxinia sylvatica
Bolivian Sunset gloxinia is a stunning winter-flowering shrub that shows off sprays of bold, red-orange flowers. These blooms are a delightful contrast to its shiny, dark green foliage. Because Bolivian Sunset gloxinia is a low grower (and easy),...
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Butterfly Bush
Buddleia davidii
As fragrant as it is beautiful, buddleia, commonly called butterfly bush, is must-have plant for your garden. Available in standard varieties that grow 6 feet tall and dwarfs that top out at 18 inches, you'll find a butterfly bush that's perfect...
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Coneflower
Echinacea
One of the best flowering perennials for sunny sites, echinacea, commonly called coneflower, is a snap to grow. These heat- and drought-resistant beauties develop wave after wave of blooms all summer long. Plus, coneflowers, are a top menu item for...
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Coreopsis
Coreopsis spp.
Amp up the color in your flower borders with coreopsis. This amazing native plant, occasionally called tickseed, develops mass quantities of yellow, orange, rose, lavender, white, or bi-colored flowers through the early summer. Coreopsis is...
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Cuphea
Cuphea spp.
Talk about summer color! Cuphea produces fiery hot blooms all summer long. This Mexican native works well as a bedding plant or in mixed containers with annual bloomers. Throughout most of the country, cuphea is grown as an annual, but in...
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Evolvulus
Evolvulus pilosus
Paint your garden beds or containers with the lovely blue blooms of evolvulus. Planted in a sunny spot, this lovely spreader smothers itself with a nonstop wave of ocean-blue flowers atop a mound of pretty blue-green foliage. Bees and butterflies...
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Firebush
Hamelia patens
Firebush is for you if you're looking for an easy-to-grow plant that's colorful and attracts butterflies and hummingbirds! Native to Florida, firebush is a tropical landscape shrub that shows off tube-shaped yellow-and-orange flowers. In areas that...
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Golden Dewdrop
Duranta erecta
Golden dewdrop is a beautiful tropical flowering shrub that's often grown as an annual in the North. It offers gardeners a spectacular show of beautiful blue or white flowers all summer long. (And in the tropics, golden dewdrop blooms on and off...
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Jacobinia
Justicia carnea
Jacobinia, also called justicia and Brazilian plume, is a beautiful tropical flowering shrub that displays gorgeous clusters of pink or white flowers that look like fireworks. It's a common, easy-to-grow plant in tropical areas like Southern...
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Lamium
Lamium
Silver leaves and soft pink flowers make lamium one of the most colorful fast-growing groundcovers you can use in shady or partially shady spots. Occasionally called dead nettle, this super-easy plant grows about 6 to 8 inches tall and will light...
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Mexican Petunia
Ruellia brittoniana
Add color and height to your summer borders with Mexican petunia, occasionally called ruellia. This easy-care plant grows 3 feet tall (though there are also dwarf varieties that stay shorter) and develops waves of blue, white, or pink petunia-like...
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Oyster Plant
Rhoeo spathacea
Oyster plant, also sometimes called Moses-in-the-cradle, is an exceptionally easy-to-grow plant that's popular indoors and out. As a houseplant, it's loved for its no-fuss nature. Oyster plant is one of the houseplants that basically just needs...
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Persian Shield
Strobilanthes dyerianus
Whether you live in the North or South or have sun or shade, you can grow Persian shield. This delightful tropical shrub has been embraced by gardeners everywhere for its amazing purple foliage that has a decidedly iridescent shine. Its unique...
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Plumbago
Plumbago auriculata
Gardeners everywhere find it easy to fall in love with plumbago, a tropical flowering shrub that blooms nonstop and produces clusters of sky-blue flowers -- one of the rarest colors in the flower world. Hardy in Zones 9 and 10, plumbago typically...
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Purslane
Portulaca oleracea
Hot, dry conditions are no match for purslane. This vigorous, low-growing annual flower thrives when the weather heats up and will slowly carpet a bed, border, or container with pretty succulent foliage and bright yellow-, orange-, or rose-, or...
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Salvia, Annual
Salvia spp.
In almost constant bloom, annual salvia will add tons of color to your summer border or containers. Growing 12 to 24 inches tall, annual salvia is prized for its rich blue, red, or white flowers that form on stately stalks that are easy to cut for...
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Sanchezia
Sanchezia nobilis
Sanchezia is a beautiful flowering shrub that also has amazing foliage. Once only grown in the tropics, its beauty and easy-growing nature is making it an increasingly popular plant to grow in the north. Most of the year, sanchezia's main...
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Scaevola
Scaevola spp.
The flower-encrusted, cascading branches of scaevola make it an ideal choice for window boxes, hanging baskets, or tall containers where it's trailing form can flow over the container's edge. Scaevola, occasionally called fan flower, is a...
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Shooting Star
Pseuderanthemum laxiflorum
Shooting star is an under-utilized flowering shrub that's worth growing if you can find it. It's prized for its lustrous green leaves and steady supply of star-shaped purple flowers from mid-spring to early winter. A relatively small shrub, it's...
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Verbena
Verbena spp.
Imagine a plant that blooms nonstop from early summer to fall and requires only a minimum of attention from you! Well that's what you'll get with verbena. This large family of tender perennials (treated as annuals throughout most of the country)...
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Zinnia
Zinnia elegans
It's hard to imagine a flower border without zinnia! These super easy annuals have been prized by gardeners for generations. Zinnia requires almost no care and will produce crop after crop of spirit-lifting flowers that work as well in the border...
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Pentas
Pentas lanceolata
Imagine flocks of colorful butterflies and hummingbirds visiting your garden all summer long! That's what you'll get when you add pentas to your garden plan. Pentas develop sparkling star-shaped flowers all summer long in bold hues of red, white,...
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Canna
Canna hybrida
Add bold color and drama to flower beds or containers with canna lilies. These easy-care tropical bulbs are prized for their super-sized leaves in bright green, bronze, black, or variegated. Plus, cannas shoot up showy stalks of yellow, red,...
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Lantana
Lantana camara
Crowds of colorful butterflies will flock to your garden when you grow lantana. This super productive plant puts out a nonstop supply of bright, nectar-rich flowers all summer long. Lantana loves hot, sunny weather and is tolerant of both drought...
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