Lady's Mantle, Bergenia, Primrose, Thyme (and YAY to aster and geranium!!).

and to fill in when the winter comes and the flowers are done - Kinnikinnick, Wintergreen and various fern.

And don't forget about Hellebores for later. I also have some Amaryllis tucked in my winter bed and the winter blooms are fabulous.

Thanks, but do notice I wasn't talking about continuity within a border - as in planting different things for different seasons, so the border is long-blooming. This scheme is to feature individual plants that are long-blooming, and only during the July-October period.

It's going around a paved terrace that is used in summer. Diverse and bright color is abundant in local gardens in spring, but July onward tends to slide into mostly "color spots" and ripening produce. With this exercise I'm trying to spread the spring exuberance out until fall, and without big gaps.

Anyone getting the 'Carabanna' salvia to bloom this whole time? A magazine says it does, a friend that grows it near here says it doesn't. But the planting he has it in peaks now and then kind of bakes and aestivates later. Big component of hardy geraniums, shrub roses and other ~June stuff (not that some of it isn't out later as well) - you know, yet another spring display that mostly goes over before July.

Just when people are going to start really spending a lot of time outdoors.

This post was edited by bboy on Thu, Jun 13, 13 at 21:44

LOL - Oops, maybe I got confused from the title.

I keep some cheapo annual (I know you said perennials but ... ) geraniums bright and bold and beautiful blooming until it snows and some of them even winter over so stick some of them in your non stop July-October period. Also, for the perennial try some hardy fuchsia, they can last until October easily.

Yes, those are classics. Sometimes the pelargoniums overwinter in planters built against structures, with overhangs that interfere with frost. One time I noticed some against a house just down the hill that looked like they had been outside for years.

I'll probably use Fuchsia magellanica var. molinae, maybe next to an abelia or hydrangea.

It occurs to me that red currants have very showy fruit clusters from mid-June and hold the color until well into August before falling or darkening. Planted a row of my own this year after admiring the ones a block over for a decade.

The potentilla was a good choice, other than being winter-dead, and it reseeds readily here.

I'm way more of of a foliage gardener, but what about sedums, grasses, and rudbeckias for late summer bloom?

Non-stop flowering staples for me are Cape fuchsia (phygelius) and hardy fuchsias. I can expect continual blooms from these until frost....and sometimes beyond.

And if I were going with a salvia, I'd opt for S. microphylla 'Hot Lips'. I continue to be impressed with the flowering potential of this plant......been in bloom for at least 6 weeks and will not stop until fall. And no deadheading required.

Knautia macedonica
Scabiosa
hardy fuchsias can't be beat
Yarrow
Lychnis coroniaria if you don't mind deadheading. I grow about 5-6 plants massed together and they flower for many months.
Autumn Joy Sedum. I know it's predictable, but the green flower heads are decorative starting in June and the flowers go until frost.

Self seeding annuals like alyssum and cosmos carry color through late summer and into fall in my garden with minimal work. Sweet peas bloom all summer for me, too, though obviously they take some care to get started. I direct seed them which is easy. I use heat resistant varieties and plant them a little deep (in a trench and then back fill as they grow) and water generously to keep the flowers coming into the fall.

If you could post your complete list at some point, that would be interesting. Very useful concept for a border.

Lavatera arborea, just trying this out myself. Short lived, but nice large blooms.

Eccremocarpus scaber, nice to throw a vine or two into the mix. I have a 3 year old one. Blooms June till hard frost.

Some sort of hardy Abutilon.

Someone mentioned Phygelius.

Probably a lot of Salvia choices, the mild winters of late have made me like Salvia elegans "tangerine" and "honey melon". Smaller than the species, and bloom from nowish till it gets below 28 or so.

For annual accents, I really like nicotianas and solanums. Nicotiana alata 'Lime Green'-- the 3' tall kind. At minimum it self seeds, most years it is hardy. And I love Solanum pyracanthon and Solanum atropurpureum. Especially in September when they are 6 feet or more and wicked.

Heucheras are lovely and add such great colour.

Nicotiana sylvestris is a reliable perennial (at least in my garden) and it self seeds. It doesn't bloom until July and finishes before frost, but it is fantastic for a good three months. I absolutely love Nicotiana alata 'Lime Green'.

Penstemons bloom for so long, I decided they annoyed me and pulled them.

good to see another fan of 'lime green' nicotiana. all of mine in the garden came from a single pack of seeds that was an impulse point of purchase buy at a grocery store. they are super tough and easy to transplant in the spring. easy to spot as seedlings.

speaking of self seeding, semi hardy, Solanum aviculare is another fun big solanum. flowers and fruit are decorative all summer long. in sun it flowers more, but leaves are less dramatic. i like it in woodland shade best- huge leaves, and good flowering. usually survives the winter if you mulch heavily-- foot of straw or so. Worse case scenario you have a bunch of seedlings that grow insanely fast. Seems to self seed best in concrete cracks in my garden.

if there is a raised, no water zone, Datura wrightii might be a fun choice.

There are so many choices, really, it depends more on the conditions of the planting area. Most of the bloom in my garden is during that period. Most importantly, I would heartily recommend some grasses, for their long period of interest. Panicums are really great for color as well as structure, especially the red-tinged ones like 'Shenandoah' and 'Cheyenne Sky'. As far as perennials, there are hundreds that will bloom during that period. Some reliable (and beautiful) ones are:
Echinacea
Rudbeckia
Aster
Agastache
Sedum
Persicaria
Geranium
Knautia
Scabiousa
Teucrium
Eupatorium

Here's a pic of my parking strip that I planted last spring...with a few of these plants.

boy that sure looks like this:

http://www.rhonestreetgardens.com/

I like the reblooming daylilies, lavatera, alstromeria, helianthus lemon queen, tall phlox, feverfew, crocosmia, butterfly bush, penstemon, phygelius.....I'm sure I'm missing a few

Project was prompted by this, which I first read many years ago.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Non-stop Border

I second/third/fourth yarrow and Autumn Joy (and similar sedums, esp Vera Jameson). Also Coreopsis, esp verticillata cultivars, and the decorative oreganos like Barbara Tingey. And while Nepetas aren't the showiest plants around, they are unfussy and even-tempered. Try some dahlias and some chocolate cosmos. (Open-centered dahlias are much loved by numerous small pollinators.) Oh, and ornamental grasses.