What Flowers Grow Well in Direct Sun

Feature several sun-loving flowers in your garden.

Sun-loving flowers thrive in the warmest temperatures where the sun shines throughout the majority of the year. Choose native sun bathing beauties that grow well in your area and take the time to prepare the soil in advance. Soil requirements vary for different types of flowers and you may need to add additional organic matter to the soil if you live in a dry area with less fertile ground.

Desert Wildflowers

Plant clusters of Arizona poppies in your backyard.

Desert wildflowers bloom throughout spring, summer and early fall. These drought-resistant flowers thrive in warm states such as California, Arizona and New Mexico. All desert wildflowers need eight or more hours of sunshine. Some selections include the Desert Lily (Hesperocallis undulata), California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) and Arizona poppy (Kallstroemia grandiflora).

Both the Arizona, and California poppy bloom yellow, gold or orange colored flowers in the summer or early fall. Both species look very similar, but have slightly different characteristics. Some Arizona poppies have a red center. Both types of poppies grow about 1 foot tall. The desert lily sprouts large sponge-like greenish-gray foliage and large funnel-shaped cream, white and yellow blooms in the early spring. This flower grows 1 to 4 feet tall.

Flowering Shrubs

Choose the Gardenia if you prefer smaller low-growing shrubs.

Create additional color in your backyard by planting sun-loving flowering shrubs along your fence. Some options include the Gardenia (Augusta) and Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia). The Oakleaf Hydrangea grows 3 to 6 feet tall and blooms clusters of white cone-shaped flowers in the summer. The flowers can also change to light pink in late summer and then light brown as fall sets in. This shrub enjoys full sun, but it can also thrive in the shade. The Gardenia only grows up to 2 feet tall and produces white flowers in the spring. This shrub thrives in both full shade and full sunshine.

Perennials

Plant vivid blanket flowers along your front yard walkway.

Perennial flowers are species that thrive for more than one growing season. Choose from dozens of sun-loving perennial flowers. Some examples include the Bearded Iris (Iris germanica), Garden Peony (Paeonia lactiflora) and Blanket Flower (Gaillardia grandiflora).

The Bearded Iris produces a wide range of colorful and even nearly black blooms in May and June. The flowers range in color from white, deep purple, pink, red, yellow, almost black and bi-colored. Bearded Iris plants grow 2 to 4 feet tall and require a lot of sun to thrive. Make sure you provide your sun-bathing perennials with eight or more hours of sunshine each day. The Garden Peony produces white, red and pink flowers in May and June and can grow up to 3 feet tall. The Blanket flower grows up to 3 feet tall and produces red, burgundy and yellow blooms in the summer.The flowers grow close together and looks like a blanket of flowers.

Bulbs

The African Lily has long slender foliage.

Choose from a variety of different summer flowering bulbs such as the African lily (Agapanthus), or Dwarf Dahlia (Dahlia hybrida). The African lily produces blue, pink and white tubular-shaped blooms and thrives in direct sun in summer and early fall. This semi-hardy lily grows 12 to 60 inches. Dwarf Dahlia bulbs grow 8 to 10 inches tall and thrive during the spring and summer.

References

• Sunset: Sunset Plant Finder: Blanket Flower
• University of Missouri Extension: Perennials for Sun
• NC State University: African Lily
• Denver Plants: Dwarf Dahlia
• NC State University: Bearded Iris for the Home Landscape
• Michigan State University: Garden Peony

Resources

• Doug Green's Flower Garden Bulbs: Dahlia bulbs are Fun to Grow
• Desert USA: Desert Plants and Wildflowers
• Calflora: Desert Lily; A Gray
• Denver Plants: California Poppy
• Desert USA: Arizona Poppy; David B Williams
• Desert USA: Desert Lily; A.R Royo
• University of Illinois: Oakleaf Hydrangea