Fill your Long Island, NY, yard with summer color that creates a sizzling display. A blend of plant types can be used for this purpose, including shrubs, perennials and trees. You can have a color show from the ground up with classic flower favorites such as roses, or count on other flowering shrubs to bring on summer color.
Long-blooming perennials are ideal for summertime Long Island landscaping as they produce color all summer. Continued bloom can be achieved through careful selection and planning using a multitude of plants that flower with overlapping bloom times. Perennial plants are especially ideal because of their long summer bloom times. Just have these planted in their conducive conditions and let them do the work for you. Here are some ideal plantings for summertime color.
Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata)
Garden phlox is a staple of the yard come July. These long-blooming perennials flower all summer and can continue its display into fall. The garden phlox offers a bright display of pink and purple star-shaped flowers that grow in dense clusters. The plant is known to grow up to 47 inches in height with a spread of around 40 inches, giving it a lush, full look. Because of its ornamental character, the garden phlox is an excellent option for adding a cottage feel to your landscape.
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Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum)
The Shasta daisy was once referred to as “day’s eye”—a sun metaphor, and very much reflective of the ambience created by this plant. Looking at the Shasta daisy, you can’t help contemplate how closely it resembles the image of the sun—a bright yellow centre with small white petals. The Shasta daisy is a tough plant and showcases endurance that belies its delicate appearance. With a maximum height of 3 feet, the Shasta daisy is ideal for window boxes, mid-bed planting and borders.
Hardy Hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos)
The hardy hibiscus produces a range of colors from white to pink with large petals and a showy appeal. As its name suggests, the hardy hibiscus thrives in adverse, swampy conditions, making it ideal for adding color to a rain garden or dressing up ponds and other water features.
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‘Profusion’ Zinnias
With Profusion series zinnias , you get double benefits—you can cut armloads of flowers for bouquets and still have a bright band of color alongside a path yard. Though all zinnias thrive in hot weather, Profusion zinnias keep on blooming well into fall, whatever the weather. Profusion Cherry, Orange and White have daisy-like flowers, and each have received multiple awards.
Coneflowers (Echinacea)
Coneflowers are hardy, drought-tolerant perennials that come in white, purple, red, and pink. They enjoy the sun and can be planted in almost any type of soil that is well drained, though they thrive best in sandy soil. Because of the echinacea’s high nectar content, they are attractive to butterflies and will contribute to a colorful landscape in and of themselves, but also through the insects that they draw into your yard.
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