Plan Your Garden with our Perennial Flowers Season-by-Season List (2025)

Perennial flowers are a must-have in your garden because of their ability to come back every year, usually growing even stronger and more beautiful with age. Unlike annuals that can bloom for months, most perennials have a relatively short bloom season, lasting from just a few days to a few weeks. That’s why it’s vital to stagger the bloom times of your perennials for non-stop color. Use this list of spring, summer, and fall-blooming perennials for sun and shade to start planning your continuously blooming garden.

Spring Seasonal Perennial Flowers for Shade

Count on these early bloomers to brighten your shade garden every spring. Not only are they low-maintenance, but they also have a low risk of attracting pests.

• Barrenwort (Epimedium) Zones 4-8
• Bleeding heart (Dicentra) Zones 3-9
• Columbine (Aquilegia) Zones 3-9
• Primrose (Primula) Zones 2-8
• Foamflower (Tiarella) Zones 3-8
• Bergenia Zones 3-8
• Heartleaf brunnera (Brunnera) Zones 3-8
• Hellebore (Helleborus) Zones 4-9
• Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium) Zones 3-9
• Lungwort (Pulmonaria) Zones 2-8
• Viola Zones 2-11
• Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum) Zones 3-9

Spring Seasonal Perennial Flowers for Sun

These sun-loving perennials spring back every year with dozens of blooms and beautiful colors. Equipped for growing in the hot sun, many of these pretty perennials are also tough and drought-tolerant.

• Alpine clematis (Clematis alpina) Zones 4-9
• Candytuft (Iberis) Zones 3-8
• Creeping phlox (Phlox subulata) Zones 3-8
• ‘Crater Lake Blue’ Veronica Zones 6-8
• Dianthus Zones 3-10
• Sea thrift (Armeria) Zones 3-9

Late Spring to Early Summer Seasonal Perennial Flowers for Shade

Say hello to the first summer days with these perennial flowers that love the shade. Bright colors and lush foliage make for exciting accents in a cool corner spot.

• Astilbe Zones 4-8
• Coral bells (Heuchera) Zones 3-9
  
• Foamy bells (X Heucherella) Zones 4-9
• Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla) Zones 3-8
• Meadow rue (Thalictrum) Zones 3-9
  
• Yellow corydalis (Corydalis lutea) Zones 5-7

Late Spring to Early Summer Seasonal Perennial Flowers for Sun

Sunny days and warm weather are made even better with plants that can beat the heat. There's plenty of variety among these low-maintenance early summer flowers, so choosing a few that fit into your dream garden plan should be easy.

• Bear’s breeches (Acanthus) Zones 5-10
• Baptisia Zones 3-8
• Catmint (Nepeta) Zones 3-9
• Fleabane (Erigeron) Zones 2-11
• Geranium Zones 3-9
• Iris Zones 3-11
• Lamb’s ear (Stachys) Zones 4-9
• Peony (Paeonia) Zones 3-9
  
• Salvia ’May Night’ Zones 5-9

Summer Seasonal Perennial Flowers for Sun

When the heat starts to set in, it’s time for hardy, drought-resistant perennial flowers to take over. You have dozens of choices for summer flowers that can beat the heat, so go ahead and plant as many as you can fit in your yard.

• Balloon flower (Platycodon) Zones 4-9
• Bee balm (Monarda) Zones 3-9
• Bellflower (Campanula) Zones 3-10
• Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) Zones 3-11
• Blanketflower (Gaillardia) Zones 3-10
• Blazing star (Liatris) Zones 3-9
• Butterfly weed (Asclepias) Zones 3-11
  
• Coneflower (Echinacea) Zones 3-9
• Crocosmia Zones 6-10
• Delphinium Zones 3-7
• Evening primrose (Oenothera) Zones 3-11
• Dianthus Zones 3-10
• Garden phlox (Phlox paniculata) Zones 3-8
• Globe thistle (Echinops) Zones 3-10
• Hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos) Zones 4-9
• Helenium Zones 3-9
• Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) Zones 2-10
• Hyssop (Agastache) Zones 4-10
• Knautia Zones 5-9
• Lavender (Lavandula) Zones 5-9
• Lily (Lilium) Zones 4-8
• ‘Maltese Cross’ Campion (Lychnis chalcedonica) Zones 3-8
  
• Mullein (Verbascum) Zones 3-10
• Penstemon Zones 3-9
• Pincushion flower (Scabiosa) Zones 3-11
• Queen of the Prairie (Filipendula) Zones 3-8
• Red-hot poker (Kniphofia) Zones 5-9
• Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum) Zones 5-9
• Veronica Zones 3-11
• Yarrow (Achillea) Zones 3-10
• Yucca Zones 4-11

Summer Seasonal Perennial Flowers for Shade

These perennials bloom in the summer but don’t necessarily enjoy the sun’s rays. Find a shady, cool spot in your garden for these low-maintenance plants.

• Astilbe Zones 4-8
• Goatsbeard (Aruncus) Zones 3-8
• Hosta Zones 3-9
• Ligularia Zones 4-9
• Lilyturf (Liriope) Zones 5-10
• Lobelia Zones 4-9
• Meadow rue (Thalictrum) Zones 3-9
• Yellow corydalis (Corydalis lutea) Zones 5-7
• Yellow waxbells (Kirengeshoma) Zones 5-8

Late Summer and Early Fall Seasonal Perennial Flowers for Sun

Summer is ending, but fall is just around the corner. Feel the soft, cool breeze and smell the fresh scent of these fall flowers as the leaves start to turn. Add these plants to your space to help the summer season live on just a little longer.

• Aster Zones 4-8
• Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) Zones 3-11
• Boltonia Zones 3-10
• Chrysanthemum
• Coneflower (Echinacea) Zones 3-9
• Gaura Zones 5-10
• Hyssop (Agastache) Zonees 4-10
• Japanese anemone (Anemone japonica) Zones 4-8
• Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium) Zones 3-10
• Obedient plant (Physostegia) Zones 3-9
• Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) Zones 4-9
• Sedum (Hylotelephium) Zones 3-10
• Stokes’ aster (Stokesia laevis) Zones 5-9

Late Summer and Early Fall Seasonal Perennial Flowers for Shade

Summer may be leaving, but these seasonal perennial flowers will still thrive. So enjoy a few last blooms through the changing leaves with these shade-loving fall flowering plants. These seasonal perennials will perfectly complement a fall garden color palette.

• Bugbane (Actaea) Zones 3-9
• Lobelia Zones 4-9
• Toad lily (Tricyrtis) Zones 4-9
• Yellow corydalis (Corydalis lutea) Zones 5-7
• Yellow waxbells (Kirengeshoma) Zones 5-8