17 Top-Performing Full Sun Perennials
- Rebekah
- Jun 12, 2014
- 6 min read
We love full-sun perennials because they come back year after year and because they tolerate (and even bask in!) the hot sun we get in our Middle Tennessee summers! Perennials are so lovely; let's talk about seventeen that perform especially well in our area.
Beard Tongue (Penstemon digitalis):
Plant Height: 18 inches
Flower Height: 30 inches
Spacing: 18 inches
Sunlight: Full to part-sun
Attracts pollinators, especially hummingbirds! Variety 'Husker Red' Beard Tongue has masses of beautiful spikes of white tubular flowers rising above the foliage from early to mid-summer, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive narrow leaves emerge burgundy in spring, turning dark green in color with distinctive deep purple edges throughout the season. The deep purple stems are very colorful and add to the overall interest of the plant.
Beard Tongue is recommended for the following landscape applications:
Mass Planting
Border Edging
General Garden Use
Container Planting
Pollinator Gardens
Plant Height: 15 inches
Spacing: 10 inches
Sunlight: Full to part-sun
Pollinators love this perennial; its unique bloom also makes it a fun addition to the garden. Beebalm features a mass of beautiful clusters of fragrant flowers from mid-summer to early fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its fragrant pointy leaves remain dark green in color throughout the season.
Beebalm is recommended for the following landscape applications:
Mass Planting
General Garden Use
Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
Container Planting
Pollinator Gardens
Height: 2-3 feet
Spacing: 18 inches
Sunlight: Full sun
This perennial is very hardy and multiples each year. Black-Eyed Susan has masses of beautiful gold daisy flowers with dark brown eyes at the ends of the stems from mid-summer to early fall, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its serrated pointy leaves remain dark green throughout the season.
Black-Eyed Susan is recommended for the following landscape applications:
Mass Planting
General Garden Use
Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
Container Planting
Pollinator Gardens
Butterfly Gaura (Gaura lindheimeri): Plant Height: 12 inches
Flower Height: 18-24 inches
Spacing: 10-18 inches
Sunlight: Part to full sun
This charming perennial produces delicate-looking flowers; a compact plant with low branching that is great for borders and containers, attractive to butterflies, and tolerant of heat, drought, and humidity.
Gaura is recommended for the following landscape applications:
Mass Planting
Border Edging
General Garden Use
Container Planting
Pollinator Gardens
Height: 18-24 inches
Spread: 24 inches
Sunlight: Full sun
Coneflowers grow best in full sun locations. So many colorful options to choose from, Coneflowers produce a mix of flower colors from rich purple, pink, red-orange, to yellow and white! They attract pollinators. Use in naturalized areas with other native plants.
Coneflower is recommended for the following landscape applications:
Mass Planting
General Garden Use
Container Planting
Pollinator Gardens
Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia):
Height: 4 inches
Spacing: 18-24 inches
Sunlight: Part to full sun
Creeping Jenny is a spectacular groundcover choice, vigorous, yet not overly aggressive, with uniquely paired bright golden leaves all season and attractive yellow flowers throughout the summer. It works beautifully trailing out of pots. It is almost indestructible, a colorful groundcover for sunny or shady sites.
Creeping Jenny is recommended for the following landscape applications:
Border Edging
General Garden Use
Groundcover
Container Planting
Hanging Baskets
Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata):
Plant Height: 4 inches
Flower Height: 6 inches
Spacing: 10-20 inches
Sunlight: Full to part-sun
Creeping Phlox is a dense herbaceous evergreen perennial with a ground-hugging habit of growth. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition.
Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. Gardeners should be aware that it can spread over time.
Creeping Phlox is recommended for the following landscape applications:
Mass Planting
Rock/Alpine Gardens
Border Edging
General Garden Use
Groundcover
Plant Height: 12-24 inches
Flower Height: 18-24 inches
Spacing: 14-18 inches
Sunlight: Full to part-sun
‘Stella de Oro‘ is a popular variety that blooms profusely. Daylily is a relatively low-maintenance plant and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Daylily is recommended for the following landscape applications:
Mass Planting
Border Edging
General Garden Use
Groundcover
Container Planting
Plant Height: 18 inches
Flower Height: 24 inches
Spacing: 14 inches
Sunlight: Full to part sun
An intergeneric cross featuring the appearance of Rudbeckia, with the hardiness of Echinacea; long-lasting flowers with dark brown centers have a long blooming season; excellent for borders or containers; high disease resistance.
Echibeckia is recommended for the following landscape applications:
Mass Planting
General Garden Use
Container Planting
Pollinator Gardens
Height: 32 inches
Spacing: 24 inches
Sunlight: Full to part sun
Garden Phlox are tall plants that are suitable for the middle or back of borders. They have a long season of color; thick, glossy green foliage has excellent mildew resistance. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive large, glossy, narrow leaves remain emerald green in color throughout the season.
Garden Phlox is recommended for the following landscape applications:
Mass Planting
Border Edging
General Garden Use
Container Planting
Mexican Blanket Flower (Gaillardia x grandiflora):
Plant Height: 10 inches
Flower Height: 14 inches
Spacing: 10 inches
Sunlight: Full sun
This perennial has stunning color for a large part of summer into early fall. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Mexican Blanket Flower is recommended for the following landscape applications:
Mass Planting
Rock/Alpine Gardens
Border Edging
General Garden Use
Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
Container Planting
Pollinator Gardens
Plant Height: 24 inches
Flower Height: 3 feet
Spacing: 16 inches
Sunlight: Full sun
Perennial Salvia is an attractive flower that attracts pollinators. It produces volumes of tall, sturdy stems covered in breathtaking flowers from mid-summer to first frost. It is perfect for borders or beds with its bushy habit. It also looks fantastic in containers and grows best in full sun.
Salvia is recommended for the following landscape applications:
Mass Planting
General Garden Use
Container Planting
Pollinator Gardens
Height: 30 inches
Spacing: 22 inches
Sunlight: Full to part sun
This perennial features amazing red and gold bottlebrush-type flowers that rise from grassy, evergreen foliage in mid-summer. It is eye-catching in a gardening bed or in a container pot. It also makes a great cut flower and attracts hummingbirds.
Red-Hot Poker is recommended for the following landscape applications:
Mass Planting
General Garden Use
Container Planting
Pollinator Gardens
Plant Height: 18 inches
Flower Height: 24 inches
Spacing: 18 inches
Sunlight: Full sun
Russian Sage features delicate spikes of lavender flowers rising above the foliage from early summer to mid-fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive, tiny, fragrant, narrow leaves emerge silver in spring, turning grayish-green in color throughout the season.
Russian Sage is recommended for the following landscape applications:
Mass Planting
Border Edging
General Garden Use
Container Planting
Pollinator Gardens
Height: 10-24 inches
Spacing: 15-18 inches
Sunlight: Full to part sun
There are many different varieties of Stonecrop, some that are ground covers and some that are upright, such as 'Autumn Joy'. 'Autumn Joy' flowers in late summer and throughout fall, attracting pollinators late in the season.
Stonecrop is recommended for the following landscape applications:
Mass Planting
Rock/Alpine Gardens
Border Edging
General Garden Use
Groundcover
Container Planting
Height: 8-18 inches
Spread: 10-18 inches
Sunlight: Full sun
Coreopsis blooms profusely from early summer to early fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its ferny leaves remain emerald green in color throughout the season. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Tickseed is recommended for the following landscape applications:
Mass Planting
Border Edging
General Garden Use
Container Planting
Cottage Gardens
Pollinator Gardens
Height: 10-24 inches
Spread: 10-24 inches
Sunlight: Full sun
A lovely, fast-growing perennial with a mounded habit; featuring ferny silvery-green leaves and beautiful flat-top flowers that bloom during the summer months; a perfect addition to garden beds, borders, and fresh-cut arrangements. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive ferny leaves remain grayish-green in color throughout the season.
Yarrow is recommended for the following landscape applications:
Mass Planting
Border Edging
General Garden Use
Groundcover
Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
Container Planting
Pollinator Gardens
All of these perennials thrive in our area and add loads of color for a large portion of the summer (and many into early fall)! Enjoy adding one or several to your gardening bed this spring for a flurry of color and interest for years to come.