But, there are more long-blooming perennials than you might realize, and designing your garden with the right species makes it possible to have plants that bloom from spring through summer to fall and return next year. Here are 18 perennials to consider if your goal is to create a low-maintenance flower garden that blooms all summer long.

18 Long-Blooming Perennial Flowers

However, newer cultivars, such as the white ‘David,’ are mildew-resistant, with foliage that stays nice and healthy-looking all summer. Phlox does best in mild summer temperatures in a location that gets good air circulation. Deadhead spent flowers to prevent rampant self-seeding.

USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 8Color Varieties: Pink-purple, whiteSun Exposure: Full sun to part shadeSoil Needs: Medium-moisture, well-drained soil

Stella de Oro requires little care, but it can be divided whenever you want to propagate new plants. A related cultivar, Hemerocallis ‘Black-Eyed Stella’, is similar in color but is slightly taller with a burgundy center in the blooms.

USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 10Color Varieties: Yellow, gold, bi-colorsSun Exposure: Full sun to part shadeSoil Needs: Medium-moisture, well-drained soil

Becky Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum × superbum ‘Becky’) are among the best of the Shasta daisy cultivars—they are tough plants, displaying resilience and endurance which belie their delicate appearance. They bloom from July through September on plants that can grow 3 to 4 feet in height.

USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9Color Varieties: White with yellow centersSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Needs: Dry to medium-moisture soil; good tolerance for drought

Salvia × sylvestris ‘Blauhügel’ (‘Blue Hill’)Salvia × sylvestris ‘Mainacht’ (‘May Night’)Salvia farinacea ‘Victoria Blue’ Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ 

If you deadhead your salvias regularly, these perennials just might bloom all summer for you. Otherwise, they require little maintenance, other than cutting back the stems after flowering is complete. They flower for several months, though the timing of the bloom period varies depending on species. Plants grow to about 2 feet tall.

USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 10, depending on speciesColor Varieties: Blue to violetSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Needs: Dry to medium-moisture, well-drained soil

This long-blooming perennial is showy, but in the most tasteful way possible. Plants grow to 5 feet in height, though they may sprawl. They bloom from July through October.

USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 9Color Varieties: Lavender/blueSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Needs: Dry to medium-moisture, well-drained soil

Yarrow plants were widely used medicinally prior to modern times to staunch the flow of blood. In fact, the medicinal use for yarrow is responsible for the plant’s scientific name, Achillea. Today, most of us are more interested in the beauty and low maintenance of yarrow than in its herbal use. Divide the plants every three to five years. Deadheading spent flowers will lengthen the bloom period.

USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 8Color Varieties: White, yellow, red, pink, rust-brownSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Needs: Dry to medium-moisture, well-drained soil; tolerates drought

English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) blooms from June through August on plants that grow 2 to 3 feet in height.

USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 9 (depends on cultivar)Color Varieties: Purple, blue; cultivars offering pink flowers are also availableSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Needs: Dry to medium-moisture, well-drained soil; moist soil may cause root rot

USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 10Color Varieties: Red-purpleSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Needs: Dry, well-drained soil; good tolerance for drought

USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 9, depending on the varietyColor Varieties: Purplish pink; cultivars offer white, orange, yellow, red, and greenSun Exposure: Full sun to part shadeSoil Needs: Dry to medium-moisture, well-drained soil; good drought tolerance.

Threadleaf coreopsis can be stimulated into a second fall flush of flowers if the plants are sheared back in late summer after the first period of flowering is done. Other than this, they require little maintenance.

USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 9Color Varieties: Yellow; hybrids and cultivars also offer pink, red, and bi-color flowersSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Needs: Dry to medium-moisture, well-drained soil; tolerates drought

Butterfly bush typically blooms from June through September. Most butterfly bush species grow quite tall, 6 to 8 feet or more, but several cultivars are more compact plants. One recommended cultivar is ‘Blue Chip,’ a diminutive 1-to-2-foot tall version that does not spread rampantly. Other varieties need to be deadheaded after flowering to prevent spreading through self-seeding.

USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9Color Varieties: Blue, purpleSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Needs: Medium-moisture, well-drained soil

It is popular because it blooms all summer, warms the yard with its cheerful color, and requires minimal care. Black-eyed Susan blooms from June through September in most climates, on plants that grow 2 to 3 feet in height. Deadheading will prompt more frequent reblooming and prevent the plants from spreading through self-seeding. This is a relatively short-lived perennial that some gardeners allow to colonize through self-seeding.

USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 7Color Varieties: Yellow to orange, with dark centersSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Needs: Medium-moisture, well-drained soil; good tolerance for drought

Autumn Joy is highly prized for the long-lasting fall color it provides. The blooms are actually large masses of smaller flowers that clump together in groups 3 inches or more across. Autumn Joy is a very long-lived perennial that grows slowly and requires almost no maintenance, except shearing back the stems to ground level after frost.

USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 9Color Varieties: Rosy-pink buds deepening to bright rust red or purpleSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Needs: Dry to medium-moisture, well-drained soil

Catmint typically grows to about 12 inches high and is used as a ground cover, but a recommended cultivar is ‘Walker’s Low’, which grows to 24 to 30 inches tall and blooms from spring through early fall. Shearing the flower spikes after they bloom will stimulate vigorous reblooming.

USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 8Color Varieties: Lavender blueSun Exposure: Full sun to part shadeSoil Needs: Dry to medium-moisture, well-drained soil

Other cultivars grow as high as 3 feet. The key to extending the flowering season of ‘Royal Candles’ is regular shearing.

USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 8Color Varieties: Blue/violet; pink and white cultivars also availableSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Needs: Medium-moisture, well-drained soil

Especially popular are varieties from the Popsicle series, specifically ‘Mango Popsicle’, ‘Pineapple Popsicle’, and ‘Redhot Popsicle’, all of which produce flowers from late spring to midsummer on plants that grow 1 to 2 feet in height. Spent flower heads should be removed immediately, but no division of clumps is necessary.

USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9Color Varieties: Red and yellow; peach and yellow cultivars also availableSun Exposure: Full sunSoil Needs: Medium-moisture, well-drained soil

It is a good plant for edging, ground cover, or for trailing over walls. Under ideal conditions, the plant can spread readily, but it is not too hard to control. Divide plants every three to four years to keep clumps vigorous.

USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 8Color Varieties: Violet, blueSun Exposure: Full sun to part shadeSoil Needs: Medium-moisture, well-drained soil

Unlike its better-known relative, the common bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis), this type offers splendid, fern-like foliage in addition to those wonderfully shaped blossoms that any gardener with a sense of whimsy appreciates. However, the heart shapes aren’t as perfect as common bleeding hearts. Fringed bleeding heart is also a smaller plant (12 to 18 inches tall, with a similar spread).

USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 9Color Varieties: Pink, reddish-purple, whiteSun Exposure: Full shade to partial shadeSoil Needs: Medium-moisture, well-drained soil