If you’re looking for summer colors that keep coming back year after year, perennials are your answer.  And when it comes to tough durable reliable summer bloomers, here are a few of my favorites:

-Coreopsis, or commonly known as Tickseed.  They love the sun, and drier situations. And there are several species and cultivars available, with Moonbean, Crème Brule, Zagreb, and Rosea probably being the most widely used coreopsis.

-Gaura, or commonly known as Whirling Butterflies, as these flower simulate butterflies flittering around the plant.  They love the sun and well drained soils, and come in whites and pinks…even a dwarf with maroon like foliage.

-Perovskia, or Russian Sage, this woody perennial also loves the sun, and not only has these wonderful lavender blue flowers, the gray white leaves and stems make this plant an overall garden standout.

-Echinacea, or Purple Cone Flower is an oldie bit goodie that tolerates the heat and drought very well.  And it doesn’t come in just purple anymore.  You’ll also find Echinacea in yellows, oranges, rosy - orange, and even white.

-Rudbeckia, or Black-eyed Susan is another oldie but goodie heat resistant drought tolerant perennial that flowers all summer long.  This one does a great job growing in masses.

-This is Leucanthemum, or Shasta Daisy, and my favorite is Becky.  Sun or light shade, this one gives you these upright good for cutting flowers pretty much all summer long.

-And how about this beauty…Nepeta, or Catmint.  Loves the sun, great spreading habit, beautiful lavender blue flowers, and as you can see, the bees just love them!  By the way, this is the 2007 perennial of the year.

We’ll look at more tough summer blooming perennials in a couple weeks.