I think we can all admit that there are some plants that put on a spectacular show and disappear almost as quickly as they arrived. I love both, of course (there’s something special about an annual that gives you a perfect burst of seasonal beauty) but the ones I appreciate the most are the perennials with the biggest blooms. Aka those who go on, forever and seemingly forever..
Yes, the real stars of the garden are the plants that continue to bloom weeks after everything else has begun to fade. The ones that handle the hottest days of summer, keep the border looking full and carry the garden right through that difficult transition between summer and fall.
The trick to a truly beautiful garden is to set it up so that it doesn’t need constant replanting or endless maintenance. And the best way to do this? Filling it with hardy perennials that bloom quietly for months, come back year after year and make the whole garden (no, life in general!) feel more effortless.
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The 7 Biggest Flowering Perennials
So in the market for the biggest blooming perennials? Well, these are the plants I turn to when I want reliable color that lasts. They fill in the gaps, support the pollinators, and give me that wonderful feeling of looking out into the garden and realizing that there is still so much life and color, even when summer has faded and fall has enveloped the world in all its mist and sweet fruitfulness.
So without further ado…
1. Stars
(Image credit: AlpamayoPhoto/Getty Images)
Stars are the perennial I’m always thankful when summer starts to end. Just when many plants look tired, the stars come in with clouds of purple, pink or white flowers that carry the garden through to fall.
It is also one of the most valuable plants of late season for pollinators. Bees and butterflies rely on these blooms when many older summer flowers have finished, making asters a beautiful and practical addition to any garden.
I like that they don’t require a lot of attention either. Give them a sunny spot and some room to grow and they will reward you with one of the best flower displays of late. Try it out Grape Crush New England Aster by Nature Hills for a large intense purple color.
2. Catmint
(Image: Photo by Sam Scholes/Getty Images)
If I had to recommend an easy-care plant for almost any garden, catmint would be high on my list. Its soft blue-purple flowers appear for weeks and with a quick cut after the first flush, it will often reward you with another round of blooms.
The silvery foliage of this longest-lived perennial looks attractive even when it’s not covered in flowers, and the whole plant is relaxed country garden feel that makes a border look effortlessly beautiful.
It’s also wonderfully tough. Catmint handles heat, tolerates dry spells, and doesn’t need to be mixed to look good (go for something like Walker’s Low Catmint from Nature Hills if you want to make your life easier).
3. Salvia
Salvia it is one of the longest flowering perennials, meaning it is obviously a plant that earns its place every year. The tall flower spikes add structure and color, and pollinators absolutely love them (I have some outside my window as I type, and there are bees everywhere!).
I especially like perennial salvias because they keep producing these jewel-like blooms all summer long with very little care. It’s the kind of plant you can almost forget about – until you notice how many bees and butterflies visit.
With little deadhead, many varieties continue to send up fresh flowers, making them one of the most reliable sources of summer color. Whole hearted salvia!
Buy Salvia below:
Nature Hills Nursery
May Night Salvia
Little to no skull is needed here, just lots of purple flowers!
Nature Hills Nursery
Bumbleberry Salvia
This bold salvia promises all-season color and happy bees to their damsels.
Nature Hills Nursery
Marcus Salvia
This compact dwarf variety proves that size doesn’t matter when it comes to salvia.
4. Coreopsis
(Image credit: Thrillerfillerspiller / Alamy)
If you want one of the biggest flowering perennials, be sure to check out the tick, because coreopsis it brings the kind of happy color that instantly makes a garden feel happier. These daisy-like flowers can continue to appear from early summer into fall, especially when spent blooms are removed.
Modern cultivars have made these plants even better, with improved flowering, compact growth and colors that work beautifully in both borders and containers.
It’s one of those plants that makes gardening feel easy because it gives so much while asking so little. Choose all the bright and beautiful, then, and give it a try Sunshine Superman Coreopsis from Nature Hills (on sale now, no less!).
5. Conifers (Echinacea)
(Image: Jacky Parker Photography/Getty Images)
Conifers it is one of those plants that seems to get better with age. They look beautiful in full bloom, but I also like to leave the seed heads standing later in the season because they add winter interest and provide bird food.
They handle the heat beautifully once established and bring a lovely meadow feel to the garden. The flowers keep coming all summer and are a favorite with pollinators.
To me, it’s one of those plants that looks good at every stage – from fresh blooms to dried seed heads. And I know I’m constantly pursuing it, but the Magnus Purple Coneflower from Nature Hills it’s the way to go if you hate the droop that echniacea usually suffers from.
6. Egg
(Image credit: N Stertz/Shutterstock)
Yarrow it is one of those underrated plants that deserves much more attention. The flat clusters of flowers add a completely different shape to the garden and the flowers seem to float above the foliage.
It thrives in heat, tolerates dry conditions and doesn’t need perfect soil to function. Once established, it’s just the kind of reliable perennial that makes a garden easier to manage.
I love plants like this because they quietly go about their business while other, fussier flowers struggle. And, if you want one that looks like the image above, you need it Strawberry Seduction™ Yarrow from Nature Hills in your life.
7. Geranium ‘Rozanne’
(Image: Mike Russell/Shutterstock)
Geranium ‘Rozanne’ (aka hardy geranium) has earned its reputation as one of the longest flowering perennials for a reason. It produces masses of blue-purple flowers and has one of the longest flowering periods of any hardy geranium.
I love the way it gently spills through a border, softening edges and filling gaps between larger plants. It feels natural and not overly designed, which is exactly the look I often want in a garden.
It’s the kind of perennial that quietly disappears for months, giving you color long after many other plants have finished. And Rozanne Hardy Geranium is 20% off at Nature Hills right now, too.
BONUS: And the rest!
(Image credit: FedeLag / Shutterstock)
There are many other perennials that deserve a mention on our list of the biggest flowering perennials. Agastache, for example, is a fantastic choice for sunny gardens, with tall spikes of flowers that hummingbirds and the bees love it. Rudbeckia brings bright golden blooms and a cheerful late summer look, while gaura adds airy splendor that seems to dance above the foliage.
Then we have the penstemon, another excellent pollinator plant, and the heliopsis offers months of sunny yellow flowers with very little fuss. Which one should I choose, eh?
Shop the hottest perennials below:
Proven winners
Yellow ‘Treasure Trove’ Black-eyed Susan
No garden is complete without a burst of yellow from a well-placed rudbeckia, is it?
Shamrock garden
White Gaura Sparkle plants
Continuous blooms? Yes please! Gaura is the way to go if that’s the vibe you want.
The World of Gardening
Penstemon flower seeds
Hummingbirds love this long-lived perennial, which makes it perfect for planting!
The beauty of these plants is that they don’t just look good for a fleeting moment. The idea is in the name, folks. they earn their place by presenting year after year, filling the garden with color and making summer gardening feel so much easier.
A garden filled with the biggest blooming perennials isn’t just beautiful – it’s a garden that keeps on giving. Time to get on the bandwagon, then. it just makes sense.
