The Best Summer Color Plants for Northern Gardeners

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Goat’s Beard

Few shade-loving native perennials bloom with the mighty stature and presence of goat’s beard (Aruncus dioicus). Its impressive four-to-six-foot height create a perfect backdrop in a flower border or along the edge of a woodland where it will thrive in moist, rich soil and part shade.

Huge, feathery, creamy white plumes appear for just a few weeks in early- to midsummer, but you’ll enjoy its robust foliage all season.

If you like the look of Astilbe but live in USDA Zone 3, try goat’s beard as a hardier alternative. It is easy to grow in USDA Zones 3 to 7 where it is native to the East and West Coasts and all the way north to Alaska. Shorter cultivars like ‘Misty Lace’ top out around 30 inches and may be a better fit for smaller gardens.

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Spirea

One of the easiest and most colorful shrubs you’ll enjoy growing in USDA Zones 3 to 8 is spirea. They perform effortlessly in six or more hours of sun, blooming with pollinator-friendly pink, red, magenta or white flower clusters in early summer.

Give them a quick shearing, and they’ll bloom again for you later in the summer. And because most only grow a few feet tall, it’s easy to find a spot for a spirea in your landscape. Did we mention they’re deer resistant, too?

Many cultivars like Little Spark, pictured here, put on an even greater color show with their foliage. The tiny leaves sprout in spring in shades of tangerine or beet red, then brighten to chartreuse-yellow in the summertime. Cooler fall weather can trigger the reappearance of those colors you so enjoyed in the spring. Today’s vibrant spireas deserve a place in every sunny landscape.

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Roses

While romantic cabbage roses may be out of the reach of USDA Zone 3 gardeners, there are still plenty of excellent choices in landscape roses that can handle frigid winters and steamy summers. Study their hardiness information carefully before you buy and ask your local garden centers for recommendations.

Oso Easy Hot Paprika, pictured here, is a disease resistant rose for USDA Zones 3 to 9 that blooms prolifically from early summer through fall.

If you choose a rose variety hardy to your USDA Zone, special winter protection such as a rose cone shouldn’t be needed. Because they bloom on new growth, even if the tips of the branches die back in winter, the plants can safely be cut down by as much as half in the spring and they will still bloom beautifully that season.