If you’ve populated your garden with native plants, it can sometimes feel like the season doesn’t really get started until May. That’s when many of our native plants, especially those long summer bloomers, begin to emerge from dormancy. Given the right conditions, you’ll notice notable growth as the weather warms in late spring. For many of these plants, the blooms start in earnest in the summer.

Native plants have been historically overlooked as garden plants, but there are some that are very well-suited to formal landscapes. The emergence of smaller, longer-blooming, and disease resistant cultivated varieties have further opened up the possibilities of using native plants in small garden settings. This is a game-changer for transforming our gardens into better habitat for local pollinators, birds, and other wildlife.

This blog lists some of our favorite summer native perennials, based on their hardiness, beauty, and value to local wildlife. This is by no means an exhaustive list and doesn’t include some great shrubs, trees, and sedges! Please check out the end of the blog for additional notable native perennials that shine in the summer.

Ox-Eye (Heliopsis)

Heliopsis helianthoides is a member of the sunflower family. They are a long-blooming, reliable perennial that belong in the category of landscaping staples. This perennial sports dozens of bright yellow blooms that attract bees and butterflies. Many new versions like ‘Tuscan Sun’ are compact and blanketed in blooms, making them perfectly suited for the front of your garden beds. Heliopsis prefer full sun conditions for the best flower performance.

Milkweed (Asclepias)

Summer is milkweed’s time to shine! You’ve likely heard of milkweed as the host plant for monarch butterflies. It is actually a genus of related plants and monarchs will lay their eggs on many different species of milkweed. This plant doesn’t normally begin to emerge for the season until early May and then flowers in the summer. The blooms feed adult butterflies and many native bees. The monarch butterfly will lay eggs on the plant and its caterpillars will eat the leaves for energy.

We carry common milkweed, swamp milkweed, and butterfly weed. Common milkweed should only be planted in areas where you are comfortable with it taking over. If you have a smaller garden, try butterfly weed, a smaller member of the milkweed family as a perennial for the middle of your garden bed. If you have damp soil, try swamp milkweed.

Blazing Star (Liatris)

A striking purple plant right out of Dr. Seuss! Liatris emerges with stalks that burst into purple blooms in the second half of the summer. There are several species of native blazing star, so check the tags for ones that prefer dry or moist conditions. All liatris like full sun to part shade. Like many native plants, liatris prefers lean soil with no amendments. Adding too many nutrients can cause liatris to become floppy. Use liatris as an accent within your landscape or plant in large swaths for a wave of color.

Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum)

If you approach a mountainmint plant in the middle of summer, you may hear the buzzing before you even see the flowers. This plant is truly one of our native bees’ favorite plants. Its flowers are abundant, but diminutive. From a human perspective, the silvery foliage by each flower (bracts) that stands out in the garden bed more than the blooms. A true member of the mint family, you can crinkle the leaves and smell a cool minty scent. Place towards the back of the bed with a shorter native in front for the best impact.