Definitely the spring. I seem to have more spring bloomers, and what's worse for my garden, I pay a lot more attention to it then. By July, when the heat hits, I just can't take working out there, and everything goes to heck. I just posted in another thread that I am done with this season and looking forward to fall and prepping for next season. And that's unusually early for me to be saying that. Maybe it's just because this has been such a difficult year in all ways, and has spilled over into my gardening life, but the heat and lack of rain has made me realize my garden needs some serious late-season help!

But the great thing about gardening is there's always next year! So hopefully I can make some improvements, move some things around, and plan for better later-season interest for next year!

:)
Dee

Mine is showy except for August. But, considering things don't get cranking with the spring bloomers until the end of May, things kind of emerge and go into hyperdrive for June and July. August is basically echinacea and Joe Pye Weed, and then I've got lots of fall color. August is nice in the mass planting area, but the intimate "cottage" area could use some excitement from mid August to mid September.

In our area, given that winter is long, spring bloomers are a must. One day I'll put in lots of tulips and bulbs. One day.

Side note, the fall bloomers are by the hot tub. The hot tub is great in fall, hence the planning for lots of fall blooms.

For me, the spring tends to dominate, because they can grow and bloom before the inferno descends (when no one goes outside). I have some fall bloomers, but it's very hard to keep them looking good (and alive even) to bloom in the fall. Summer tends to be lots of yellow daisy form flowers...
A number of my fall flowers are moisture lovers, and live in the rain runoff of the roof, like blooming now (lobelia (2 species), conoclinum, and asters). Others are fall flowering bulbs that have no presence in the summer (like lycoris, cyclamen, colchicum,oxblood lilies, and crocus).
Since no one spends much time outside in summer, I don't worry about it, though there's plenty of things blooming then, being the default time for everything.

mxk3, what are your earliest herbaceous perennials? Not including tulips, when does your "spring" really start? In my photos from mid-May most things are just starting to emerge. I thought everybody else was earlier than me. This year my Dicentra bloomed earliest (1st small bloom on May 13th) followed by spring anemones on May 24th.

I think it’s fall and Spring equally for me. I have loads of tulips and late flowering plants like echinaceas and hydrangeas paniculatas. It’s summer that’s more blah in my garden. I need more summer bloomers!

Mine is definitely spring. By fall all I do is lead work. And more leaf work and...you get the picture :)

Deanna -- the earliest perennial is pulsatilla, usually blooms mid to late April. Crocus bloom end of March. The brunnera, woodland phlox, Mertensia don't start until May up here.