Home » Plants & Animals » Cottage Garden » Summer Blooming Shrubs Part One

Summer Blooming Shrubs Part One

© Barbara M. Martin

> OK, the azaleas and rhododendrons and lilacs and forsythias are done, the "fall color" excitement is no where near happening yet, and it's too hot outside to do much except sit back, sip some cold tea and watch the butterflies. So what do you have to attract them? In other words, what's blooming?

Well, to be honest, unless you have an extensive flower garden, probably not a whole lot in most people's yards. And that's too bad, because at least in my area, (zone 6) we do have an amazing number of easy-care flowering shrubs that are good candidates for the summer show! Maybe you will find room for some of these in your garden.

Each can be easily searched for at Gardening.Com Plant Encyclopedia which will show you a photograph and an extremely brief thumbnail description. For more complete information I would suggest you check in the Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Uses by Michael A. Dirr. Your library or County Extension should have this excellent reference book. You might also, even better yet, consult with experienced gardeners in your local area and/or with nursery staff you trust to be knowledgeable to find out if these will do well for you.

Butterfly bushes (Buddleia davidii) are always popular. A single shrub serves as butterfly magnet, hummingbird cafe and of course those blooms are gorgeous! It is fragrant, too, although I never notice it until evening. Depending where you live and how severe your winter is, this shrub may die back to the ground (or occasionally succumb altogether) but it grows so quickly that we forgive it for this little imperfection. Yes, that little tiny plant in the pot can hit six to eight feet this summer! On second thought, if your space is tight you might be wise to consider the smaller "Nanho" series. Hint: To keep it bushy and well-branched, you might wish to prune it back lightly a few times early in the season. This shrub needs full sun.

Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) is an innocuous yet quietly elegant and well behaved thing for most of the year. In bloom, it is an explosion of fragrance. Absolutely delightful. It is available in both white and pink. This is one shrub in my experience which really does need a moist somewhat acid soil (it grows wild in wet places).

Calycanthus floridus or Carolina allspice is reputed to be fragrant and often makes the "top ten" as a wonderfully fragrant summer blooming shrub. However, in my experience, this depends. I have yet to find one that actually smells at all, let alone smells "fruity" or like pineapple or strawberries. The "flowers" are odd looking dark gobby things, not decorative except in a funereal sort of way, so it's up to you. At least it does bloom in the summer!

The copyright of the article Summer Blooming Shrubs Part One in Cottage Garden is owned by . Permission to republish Summer Blooming Shrubs Part One in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.