April showers bring May flowers, and this year is no exception. Spring is in full swing, and with summer right around the corner, you’ll surely be spending even more time outdoors. Here are a few plants and flowers guaranteed to add some color to your summer garden or to vases in your home.

 

“Where flowers bloom, so does hope…” – Lady Bird Johnson

Traditional

These flowers are popular adornments for weddings, but they can be a little high-maintenance, needing moist, often-watered soil and monthly fertilizing. Be careful when bringing them inside, as all parts of the calla lily plant are toxic to pets when ingested.

Calla Lily

Botanical Name: Zantedeschia aethiopica

Sun Exposure: full sun or partial shade

Soil Type: loose, well-drained

Soil pH: acidic

Flower Color: orange, yellow, green, purple, white, black

Bloom Season: summer

 

Low Maintenance

Peruvian lilies, also known as the lilies of the Incas, make for wonderful cut flowers as they can last for up to two weeks in a vase. They are native to South America and have streaked or spotted petals.

Peruvian Lily

Botanical Name: Alstroemeria

Sun Exposure: part sun or full sun

Soil Type: well-drained

Soil pH: slightly acidic

Flower Color: red, orange, yellow, purple, pink, white

Bloom Season: late spring and early summer

Special Features: deer resistant, attracts birds

Plentiful

These flowers are perfect for the impatient gardener. While many plants require several years of growth before they can produce flowers, anemones flower just three months after planting. When planted in late winter, they bloom in mid-spring for six weeks and produce up to 20 flowers per bulb.

Anemone

Botanical Name: Anemone

Sun Exposure: light shade or full sun

Soil Type: well-drained, moderately fertile

Soil pH: slightly acidic

Flower Color: red, yellow, purple, violet, white

Bloom Season: May and June

 

Fragrant

Native to Mexico and Central America, these star-shaped flowers are extremely heat tolerant, although they do require daily watering. The sweet, delicate scent and bright color will attract birds, bees, and butterflies to your garden.

Bouvardia

Botanical Name: Bouvardia longiflora

Sun Exposure: full or partial sun

Soil Type: well-drained

Soil pH: mildly acidic – netural

Flower Color: red, orange, yellow, pink, white

Bloom Season: May – October

Common names: Firecracker bush, Trumpetellia, Hummingbird flower

Delicate

This flower can be easily scorched by the summer heat and damaged by wind or salt spray in coastal areas. Planting on the side of your house or an outdoor building such as a barn, shed, or pool house will give the flowers the shade and shelter they require.

Camellia

Botanical Name: Camellia

Plant Type: shrub/small tree

Sun Exposure: light shade

Soil Type: moist but well-drained; prefer clay, loam, or sand

Soil pH: acidic – neutral

Flower Color: red, pink, white

Bloom Season: April – September

Special Features: deer resistant

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Health Life – May-June 2017

Flowers Every Spring Garden (and Home) Needs

Written by: Anna Limoges