05/22/2026
Plant These 14 in May for Nonstop Summer Blooms 🌸
One raised bed. Fourteen flowers. Continuous color from June through first frost if you plant them now.
Front row — fast bloomers, low habit:
1. Zinnias — direct sow or transplant in May. Blooms in 8 weeks from seed and flowers harder the more you cut it. The best cut flower in the summer garden. Full sun, drought-tolerant.
2. Cosmos — self-sows freely, grows fast, and produces airy pink and white daisy blooms all season. Thrives on neglect — do not fertilize.
3. French Marigolds — the workhorses of the summer bed. Continuous orange and yellow blooms, deer-resistant, and proven to repel nematodes in adjacent vegetable beds.
4. Nasturtiums — edible flowers in orange and red. Trail and mound naturally, fill gaps, and attract beneficial insects. Direct sow only — they hate transplanting.
14. Dianthus — low compact mounds covered in pink and red fringed flowers. Heat tolerant, long blooming, deer-resistant.
Mid-row — height and volume:
5. Petunias — the most reliable mid-border annual available. Spill over edges, fill every gap, and bloom from planting through hard frost with deadheading.
6. Blue Salvia — tall vertical blue spikes that provide structure and draw hummingbirds and native bees throughout summer.
7. African Marigolds — larger than French marigolds, with the same pest-deterrent properties. Bold orange pompom blooms on taller stems.
12. Ageratum / Catmint — soft lavender-blue filler that blooms in waves. Catmint re-blooms after a mid-summer cut.
13. Blanket Flower (Gaillardia) — vivid red-orange-yellow daisy form that blooms from May through frost. Drought-tolerant, native to North American prairies.
Back row — tall drama:
8. Sunflowers — plant in May for August peak bloom. Choose multi-branching varieties for continuous flower production rather than single-stem types.
9. Coreopsis — yellow-gold daisy form that blooms all summer with zero deadheading required. Native to North America, fully drought-tolerant once established.
10. Coneflowers (Echinacea) — a North American native perennial that returns every year. Pink-purple blooms beloved by native bees and goldfinches.
11. Black-eyed Susans — the defining flower of the American summer. Blooms July through September, self-seeds reliably, and feeds birds through winter if seed heads are left standing.
Plant now. Bloom all summer. 🌻
