The Best Plants to Add to Your Garden This Summer

Whether you are looking for something new, or are just not sure what to plant for the summer, the plants below are well worth checking out.

16/03/2023

 

 

 

Gardening is a great pastime. It provides you with a beautiful yard full of colors, and potentially food to eat, too. It even offers a way to connect, as you get to bond and talk with your neighbors and other locals about the plants that do best in the area and the common struggles of gardening in your climate.

Whether you are looking for something new, or are just not sure what to plant for the summer, the plants below are well worth checking out.

 

Fruits, Vegetables, and Herbs

 

Peppers

Peppers are a versatile mix of fruits that come in all sorts of varieties. Pretty much every type of pepper does best in the hot summer sun. If you like spicier foods, look at growing jalapenos, serranos, and bird’s eye chilis. If you like peppers, but not their spice, look at shishito peppers, banana peppers, and bell peppers.

They do need a long time to grow, so you might want to start them inside a little before summer actually arrives. Make sure they aren’t planted outdoors until it is above 60 degrees Fahrenheit at night or else they can freeze.

 

Sage

Sage is a great herb to grow over the summer. It does well in full sun. Some varieties are edible, and some are decorative and add a pleasant smell to the air. They can be grown alongside other plants like cabbage, carrots, and rosemary.

However, one plant sage should never be placed near is cucumbers. Something about aromatic herbs, with the exception of oregano, stunts cucumber growth, so they should be planted far apart from each other.

Sage can be dried or eaten fresh and is used to flavor butter, root vegetables, chicken, and sausage. It tastes a little peppery and earthy.

 

Beets

You may be confused to see beets on this list. After all, beets are usually considered spring root vegetables. Beets are an amazing plant that can grow in spring and summer. While they don’t do extremely well in the heart of the summer, you can plant them again in late summer and have a second harvest.

They can handle both hot and cool days to a pretty high degree, so they work in late summer when the temperature is a little variable. A good rule of thumb is to plant them about six weeks before your first frost is supposed to occur. That gives them time to grow to a good size before they need to be harvested.

 

Flowers

 

Cosmos

Cosmos are annual flowers, meaning that after they die out for the year, they won’t come back in the next. While this is a bit of a bummer, they are easy to regrow every spring or summer and grow fast thanks to their limited lifespan.

Cosmos have flowers that look a lot like daisies, though they can be open or cupped. They are also tall, growing up to six feet in ideal conditions. They come in many colors, including pink, orange, red, white, and yellow.

They attract many different pollinators, like birds, butterflies, and bees to add life to your garden. However, if you are tired of pests attacking your plants, you may want to avoid these as they will bring in some of the usual pests, or plant them next to other plants that scare away pests, like marigolds.

 

Zinnias

Depending on where you live, zinnias can be planted all year round, but they do especially well in the summer. They are low maintenance and can handle drought and heat without a problem.

They are annuals, so they will have to be planted every year, but they grow quickly and can stay blooming for most of the year. Some people say they are so low maintenance that you can just throw the seeds on the ground, water the area, and you will have flowers soon enough.

Zinnias have big, bold flowers that come in almost every bright or pastel color you can imagine. They can be one solid color, or have a mix of two or three colors on their petals. The different species have fun names as well, such as Candy Cane, Color Crackle, and Queen Lime Red.

 

Viburnum

Viburnum does well any time in spring or summer, though you may have to find one species that works a bit better for your zone and season. This plant comes in a variety of different colors, shapes, and sizes.

White is a common color, but they can have red or pink flowers as well, and the berries are bright blue, pink, red, purple, and black. The leaves can also come in a variety of colors. While green is the most common, they have white, yellow, and even bright reds during the fall season.

 

 

 

 

back to top