Perennials that bloom from spring to fall are valued for their ability to provide continuous color and interest throughout the growing season. Unlike annuals, which must be replanted each year, these plants return season after season, gradually filling the garden with reliable beauty. Their extended blooming period means gardeners can enjoy flowers in early spring, lush color in summer, and vibrant displays well into the fall, all without frequent replacement.
One of the main advantages of these long-blooming plants is the way they sustain garden interest over many months. Instead of relying on short bursts of flowers that quickly fade, they offer a steady succession of blooms. Many varieties achieve this through repeat flowering cycles, especially when deadheaded, while others naturally produce blooms for an extended duration.
In addition to their beauty, perennials with extended bloom times often play an important role in supporting pollinators. Their flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds across multiple seasons, providing consistent sources of nectar and pollen. This makes them valuable contributors to biodiversity, especially in gardens designed with wildlife in mind.
From a gardener’s perspective, these plants are both functional and versatile. They come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and colors, which makes them suitable for borders, containers, rock gardens, or naturalized spaces. Their ability to adapt to different soil types and growing conditions adds to their appeal, and many varieties are drought-tolerant, deer-resistant, or low-maintenance once established.
Perennials That Bloom From Spring to Fall
Coreopsis
Coreopsis, often called “tickseed,” is a cheerful perennial known for its daisy-like blooms in shades of yellow, orange, and red. It begins flowering in late spring and continues steadily into the fall with minimal maintenance. These plants thrive in full sun and well-drained soil, tolerating heat and drought well, which makes them a favorite for low-maintenance landscapes.
Blanket Flower (Gaillardia)
The Blanket Flower produces bold, fiery-colored blooms in red, orange, and yellow that last from early summer through fall. With deadheading, its blooming season can be extended even further. It’s highly resilient, tolerating poor soils and dry conditions, making it an excellent choice for hot, sunny gardens.
Coneflower (Echinacea)
Coneflowers are hardy perennials that bloom from late spring to fall, offering large, daisy-like flowers with a prominent cone-shaped center. Available in many colors beyond the classic purple, they are beloved by pollinators and provide seeds for birds in the fall. Once established, they tolerate drought and thrive in full sun.
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)
Black-eyed Susans produce golden-yellow petals with dark centers and bloom prolifically from summer to fall. They thrive in full sun and adapt well to different soil types, making them a staple in pollinator gardens. Their long-lasting blooms and ability to naturalize make them both attractive and reliable.
Catmint (Nepeta)
Catmint is a fragrant, long-blooming perennial that begins flowering in late spring and can last until fall if regularly trimmed back after the first flush. With soft, lavender-blue flowers and silvery foliage, it adds a calming presence to borders. Catmint is highly drought-tolerant and resistant to deer and rabbits.
Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)
Russian Sage is a striking perennial with tall, airy spires of lavender-blue flowers that begin in summer and persist well into fall. Its silvery-gray foliage adds ornamental value even outside its blooming period. Thriving in hot, sunny, and dry conditions, it is a strong structural plant for perennial beds.
Salvia (Perennial Varieties)
Perennial salvias bloom from late spring into fall, especially when deadheaded regularly to encourage new flushes of flowers. Their spiky blooms come in shades of blue, purple, pink, and white. Salvias attract hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies while offering excellent drought tolerance once established.
Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata)
Garden Phlox brings clusters of fragrant blooms from mid-summer through fall. Available in pinks, purples, and whites, it adds both color and scent to gardens. While it prefers moist, well-drained soil, it benefits from good air circulation to prevent mildew, making it ideal for sunny, open garden spaces.
Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum × superbum)
Shasta Daisies bloom from early summer into fall with classic white petals and yellow centers. Their long bloom time, combined with a tendency to attract pollinators, makes them a favorite for cottage gardens. They thrive in full sun and well-drained soil, returning reliably year after year.
Hardy Geranium (Cranesbill)
Hardy geraniums are versatile perennials that bloom from late spring into fall with charming five-petaled flowers in shades of pink, purple, and blue. They form attractive mounds of foliage, making them ideal for borders or ground cover. Many varieties also develop red or bronze foliage in autumn, adding extra seasonal interest.
Daylily (Repeat-Blooming Varieties)
While traditional daylilies bloom for a short period, many newer reblooming hybrids extend their flowering from early summer through fall. With trumpet-shaped blooms in a wide range of colors, they adapt easily to various soil types and require little care once established, making them a staple in long-blooming gardens.
Yarrow (Achillea)
Yarrow offers clusters of flat-topped flowers in vibrant shades of yellow, pink, red, or white, blooming from late spring to early fall. Its fern-like foliage adds texture, and it thrives in hot, dry conditions. Yarrow is drought-tolerant, pollinator-friendly, and excellent for cut or dried flower arrangements.
Hellebore (Hybrid Varieties)
Hellebores, often called “Lenten roses,” can begin blooming as early as late winter and continue into spring, with some hybrid varieties producing sporadic flowers throughout the summer and into fall. Their nodding, cup-shaped flowers come in a wide range of hues, and their evergreen foliage provides garden structure year-round.
Verbena (Perennial Varieties)
Perennial verbenas bloom profusely from spring until the first frost, creating clusters of small, nectar-rich flowers in purple, pink, or red shades. They thrive in sunny spots and attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Their spreading growth habit makes them excellent for borders, rock gardens, and containers.
Penstemon (Beardtongue)
Penstemons produce tubular flowers in shades of red, purple, pink, and blue, blooming from late spring through fall. They are loved by hummingbirds and thrive in sunny, well-drained sites. Their upright growth habit and colorful blooms make them ideal for mixed perennial borders.
Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandiflorus)
Balloon flowers earn their name from balloon-like buds that open into star-shaped blue, pink, or white flowers. Blooming from early summer into fall, they are easy to grow, long-lived, and require little maintenance. They add a unique texture and charm to perennial beds.
Bee Balm (Monarda)
Bee Balm bursts into bloom from summer into early fall, producing clusters of tubular flowers in red, pink, purple, or white. It is highly attractive to pollinators, especially bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Beyond its beauty, bee balm has aromatic foliage that can be used in herbal teas.
Japanese Anemone (Anemone hupehensis)
Japanese Anemones bloom in late summer and continue into fall, offering elegant flowers in shades of pink and white with bright yellow centers. Their tall stems make them perfect for the back of borders, and they thrive in part shade, adding late-season beauty when many other plants have faded.
Blanketflower (Gaillardia × grandiflora ‘Arizona Sun’)
A hybrid blanketflower variety, ‘Arizona Sun,’ produces vibrant red and yellow blooms from late spring through fall. It is compact, heat-tolerant, and blooms non-stop with little care, making it a favorite for long-season color.
Goldenrod (Solidago)
Goldenrod provides bright yellow plumes from late summer into fall. Though sometimes mistaken as a cause of allergies (ragweed is the real culprit), goldenrod is an excellent pollinator plant. It thrives in full sun, tolerates dry soil, and ensures gardens remain colorful late in the season.
Heuchera (Coral Bells)
Heuchera is prized for its colorful foliage, ranging from lime green to deep burgundy, but its delicate flower spikes also bloom from late spring into fall. These airy blooms attract hummingbirds, while the evergreen foliage keeps borders attractive year-round.
Sedum (Stonecrop)
Sedum produces star-shaped clusters of flowers from late summer through fall, typically in shades of pink, red, or white. Its succulent leaves make it drought-resistant, and it thrives in full sun. The blooms also provide nectar for pollinators before drying into attractive seed heads for winter interest.
Veronica (Speedwell)
Veronica blooms with spires of blue, purple, or pink flowers that begin in spring and can last into fall with proper deadheading. Compact and upright, it is excellent for borders and cottage gardens. Veronica thrives in sunny, well-drained soil and is very pollinator-friendly.
Gaura (Oenothera lindheimeri)
Gaura, often called “whirling butterflies,” produces delicate pink or white flowers on tall, airy stems from late spring until frost. Its constant blooms and graceful movement in the breeze make it an attractive addition to perennial beds. It is heat and drought-tolerant once established.
Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens)
Candytuft begins blooming in spring but often produces a second flush of flowers into late summer and fall. Its small, white blooms create a carpet effect, making it excellent for edging and rock gardens. It thrives in well-drained, sunny locations.
Helenium (Sneezeweed)
Helenium provides daisy-like blooms in fiery colors of red, orange, and yellow from summer into fall. Despite its name, it does not cause allergies and is beloved by pollinators. Its long-lasting flowers bring a strong burst of color to late-season gardens.
Toad Lily (Tricyrtis)
Toad Lilies are shade-loving perennials that bloom from late summer into fall, producing orchid-like speckled flowers in purple, white, and pink. They thrive in moist, shaded areas and provide unique beauty in places where few other perennials bloom so late.
Baptisia (False Indigo)
Baptisia is a hardy perennial that begins blooming in late spring with tall spires of indigo-blue, yellow, or white pea-like flowers, and its ornamental seed pods continue to provide interest through summer and fall. Once established, it’s long-lived, drought-tolerant, and brings both structure and color to perennial borders.
Heliopsis (False Sunflower)
Heliopsis produces bright, daisy-like yellow flowers from mid-summer into fall. Often mistaken for Black-eyed Susans, they are taller, more robust, and bloom for a longer season. They thrive in sunny locations, attract pollinators, and make excellent cut flowers for summer and autumn bouquets.
Campanula (Bellflower)
Campanulas offer charming bell-shaped flowers in shades of blue, purple, pink, or white that begin blooming in late spring and can continue into early fall with proper care. Their sprawling or upright forms make them versatile, and they are especially striking in cottage gardens and borders.
Chrysanthemum (Hardy Garden Mum)
Chrysanthemums are classic fall perennials, but many varieties begin blooming in late summer and last until frost. Available in a wide array of colors, from gold to burgundy to white, mums extend the blooming season when most other perennials are fading. Their dense, bushy growth habit also makes them a great choice for edging.
Ajuga (Bugleweed)
Ajuga is a groundcover perennial that produces spikes of blue, purple, or pink flowers from spring into early summer, with many varieties reblooming sporadically into fall. Its colorful foliage—bronze, purple, or variegated—adds year-round interest, making it both functional and ornamental.