Gardeners usually think about bulbs for spring color in the landscape, but there are many bulbs that provide summer interest as well. You might be wondering how creative one can get with a garden. Your garden is an expression of your personality. The same way you pay attention to colors and shapes when it comes to the interior of your home is the same way you should be detailed with your garden.

Summer bulbs can be planted in beds, borders, containers, or hanging baskets. They come in different forms, including true bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and tubers. Here are some of the best bulbs to plant for summer:

Asiatic Lily

Zones: 3-8
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Bloom time: Early to mid-summer
Height/Spread: 1 to 5 feet tall, 1 to 2 feet wide
Uses: Grow in a mixed border in combination with peonies, roses, and daylilies, plant by themselves in a container or in combination with other plants.

This hardy easy-care lily is one of the earliest to bloom. Unscented flowers come in a wide range of colors and patterns. Lilies are highly toxic to cats.

Dahlia

Zones: 7-10
Exposure: Full sun
Bloom time: Mid-summer to frost
Height/Spread: Upright bushy habit; 1 to 6 feet tall, 1 to 3 feet wide
Uses: Use in garden beds or large containers. Makes an excellent cut flower.

One of the most beloved summer flowers, this Mexican native comes in an endless array of flower colors, forms, and sizes—from 2-inch pompons to giant 10-inch dinnerplates. Plant size ranges from dwarf border types to taller forms. Tubers can be left in the ground in warmer climates or lifted and stored over winter. Plants need good drainage and moderate water.

Gladiolus

Zones: 8-10
Exposure: Full sun
Bloom time: Early summer to frost
Height/Spread: Upright narrow habit; 2 to 5 feet tall, up to 1 foot wide
Uses: A longtime staple of cutting gardens. Plant in a border or long rows. Hummingbirds and butterflies love them.

This classic summer bulb has tall flower spikes that produce a succession of trumpet-shaped flowers in nearly every color imaginable. Plant in rich, well-draining soil; taller varieties may need staking. In Zone 7 or colder, dig the corms in fall and replant the following spring.

Gardeners usually think about bulbs for spring color in the landscape, but there are many bulbs that provide summer interest as well. You might be wondering how creative one can get with a garden. Your garden is an expression of your personality. The same way you pay attention to colors and shapes when it comes to the interior of your home is the same way you should be detailed with your garden.

Summer bulbs can be planted in beds, borders, containers, or hanging baskets. They come in different forms, including true bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and tubers. Here are some of the best bulbs to plant for summer:

Asiatic Lily

Zones: 3-8
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Bloom time: Early to mid-summer
Height/Spread: 1 to 5 feet tall, 1 to 2 feet wide
Uses: Grow in a mixed border in combination with peonies, roses, and daylilies, plant by themselves in a container or in combination with other plants.

This hardy easy-care lily is one of the earliest to bloom. Unscented flowers come in a wide range of colors and patterns. Lilies are highly toxic to cats.

Dahlia

Zones: 7-10
Exposure: Full sun
Bloom time: Mid-summer to frost
Height/Spread: Upright bushy habit; 1 to 6 feet tall, 1 to 3 feet wide
Uses: Use in garden beds or large containers. Makes an excellent cut flower.

One of the most beloved summer flowers, this Mexican native comes in an endless array of flower colors, forms, and sizes—from 2-inch pompons to giant 10-inch dinnerplates. Plant size ranges from dwarf border types to taller forms. Tubers can be left in the ground in warmer climates or lifted and stored over winter. Plants need good drainage and moderate water.

Gladiolus

Zones: 8-10
Exposure: Full sun
Bloom time: Early summer to frost
Height/Spread: Upright narrow habit; 2 to 5 feet tall, up to 1 foot wide
Uses: A longtime staple of cutting gardens. Plant in a border or long rows. Hummingbirds and butterflies love them.

This classic summer bulb has tall flower spikes that produce a succession of trumpet-shaped flowers in nearly every color imaginable. Plant in rich, well-draining soil; taller varieties may need staking. In Zone 7 or colder, dig the corms in fall and replant the following spring.

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