Our Top 5 Summer-Blooming Perennials to Grow for Flower Farmers and Farmer Florists
/By the time summer arrives on the farm, everything begins to shift.
The sweet freshness spring gives way to the abundance of summer. The fields are full, and the pace of the season picks up quickly. This is when summer-blooming perennials begin to come into their own, filling the farm with reliable color and texture just as the demand for flowers is at its peak.
At Flourish, summer-blooming perennials play an important role, carrying us over from the end of peony season to the peak of dahlia season. While some of these plants take time to establish, once they do, they become incredibly productive parts of the farm — returning each year with more stems and more presence in the landscape.
For flower farmers and farmer-florists, these perennials offer something essential: consistency during the hottest part of the season. They produce steadily, pair well with annual flowers, and bring a sense of rhythm to summer harvests.
Flourish’s Favorite summer-Blooming Perennials
These are five of our favorite summer-blooming perennials to grow for flower farms and floral design.
Tansy
Latin: Tanacetum
Tansy’s small, button-like yellow blooms bring a cheerful, textural element that works beautifully as a filler flower. The clusters are light and airy, allowing them to weave easily through bouquets without feeling heavy.
For flower farmers, tansy is a reliable perennial that produces generously once established. It handles heat well and continues blooming through the height of summer, making it a valuable addition to the cutting garden.
Rudbeckia Triloba
Latin: Rudbeckia triloba
Rudbeckia triloba is a productive powerhouse in the summer.
This variety produces an abundance of smaller blooms on highly branching stems. The result is a light, airy spray of golden flowers that works beautifully in market bouquets.
It blooms continuously from early summer through frost, and the more you cut it, the more it produces. For flower farmers, that kind of productivity is invaluable during peak season.
Rudbeckia triloba brings warmth and movement to arrangements and pairs especially well with other summer flowers in natural, garden-style designs.
Hybrid Anemone (Japanese Anemone)
Latin: Anemone × hybrida
Japanese anemones are one of the most elegant transitions from summer into early fall.
Their tall, wiry stems hold delicate blooms that seem to float above the rest of the garden. The flowers themselves are simple and refined, often in shades of soft white or blush, with golden centers that catch the light.
For floral design, they add a sense of movement and airiness that is difficult to replicate with other flowers.
These perennials prefer part shade and take a few seasons to establish, but once they do, they spread steadily and produce longer stems each year.
Gladiolus
Latin: Gladiolus
Gladiolus brings structure and vertical presence to summer arrangements.
Grown from corms, gladiolus produces tall, strong stems lined with blooms that open gradually from the bottom up. They are especially useful in floral design, providing both height and rhythm within an arrangement.
For flower farmers, gladiolus can be planted in succession to extend the harvest window, ensuring a steady supply of blooms throughout the summer.
They are particularly valuable for larger-scale work, where bold lines and strong structure are needed to anchor an arrangement.
Feverfew
Latin: Tanacetum parthenium
Feverfew is one of the hardest-working plants in the summer garden.
Its small, daisy-like flowers bloom in abundance, creating a soft, cloud-like effect that works beautifully in bouquet work. It is often used as a filler flower, but it has enough presence to stand on its own in more delicate, wildflower-inspired arrangements.
Feverfew is especially productive when cut regularly, continuing to branch and bloom throughout the season. It’s also relatively quick to establish compared to other perennials, making it a useful addition early on in building a perennial cutting garden.
For farmer-florists, feverfew offers a reliable, whimsical flower that blends easily with both bold and subtle palettes.
Abundance That Returns Each Year
Summer is when the farm feels most alive.
The combination of annual flowers and established perennials builds week by week until the farm is practically bursting with blooms. These summer-blooming perennials are a steady presence within that abundance — returning each year with more strength, more stems, and more to offer.
For flower farmers and farmer-florists, planting summer perennials is an investment in consistency. They help carry the season forward, supporting the busiest months with reliable, beautiful harvests.
And each year, they remind us that some of the most productive plants on the farm are the ones we planted seasons ago.
