There's a lot of pressure to keep your vacation rental looking in tip-top shape, even when you're not there. Luckily there are a variety of low-maintenance perennials that are beautiful, reliable, and low-maintenance. Choosing the best plants for your region can be tricky, so take time to understand your USDA Hardiness Zone before you go buy beautiful flowers. We picked out these ten different flowers that are low-maintenance and easy to keep looking beautiful for your guests.
This Spring, Plant These Easy Flowers At Your Rental Home
Pacific Northwest
1. Shasta Daisy
Image credit: Geek2Nurse/Flickr CC-BY 2.0
The Shasta Daisy has cheer flowers with a yellow center surrounded by white petals. It's not only pretty in the garden, but it looks great in a vase as well. Plus, they attract butterflies all summer long.
Plant Name: Leucanthemum x superbum
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and 1 foot wide
Zones: 5-8
2. Dahlia
There are thousands of dahlia varieties of different colors and textures to suit any garden. Choose from vibrant yellow to rich burgundy, tiny buttons to flowers bigger than your head. No matter which one you choose, they're all beautiful and charming and the perfect choice for your garden.
Plant Name: Dahlia selections
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 6 feet tall and 2 feet wide
Zones: 5-8
3. Primrose
Grow different varieties of primroses in your garden to have blooms open all day long. Different selections will open their white, pink or yellow flowers at different points during the day. Evening primroses even open at night, and practically glow in the moonlight.
Plant Name: Oenothera selections
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and wide
Zones: 3-8
4. Cardinal Flower
These bright red flowers appear in later summer and will make a bold statement in your garden. They're also a favorite among hummingbirds.
Plant Name: Lobelia cardinalis
Growing Conditions: Sun or shade and moist soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide
Grow it with: Add low-growing waves of contrasting colored petunias.
Zones: 2-8
Northeast
1. Astilbe
Astilbe blooms in early summer with colorful flowers in shades of pink, red, white and lavender. They are also known for their foliage, and some selections even have a bronze hue to them.
Plant Name: Astilbe selections
Growing Conditions: Shade and moist or wet soil
Size: To 2 feet tall and wide
Zones: 3-9
2. Veronica
The dainty, sun-loving perennials bloom through the summer with blue, purple, pink, or white flowers. They're easy, undemanding, and will bring your garden some country cottage charm.
Plant Name: Veronica selections
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 2 feet tall and wide
Zones: 4-8
3. Trillium
Trilliums love shade and are actually native to many areas of the northeast. They offer beautiful blooms in white, yellow, or maroon. Note that they tend to go dormant in midsummer, but the variegated foliage will provide beauty any time of year.
Plant Name: Trillium species
Growing Conditions: Shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 16 inches tall and wide
Zones: 4-7
Midwest
1. Columbine
This adaptable plant thrives in the sun or shade. It's dainty purple, red, and yellow flowers will attract butterflies and hummingbirds all summer long.
Name: Aquilegia canadensis
Growing Conditions: Sun or shade and well-drained soil
Size: To 2 feet tall
Zones: 3-8
2. Spiderwort
Spiderworts are spring-blooming perennials with vibrant three-petaled flowers. Their grassy foliage also provides great land cover.
Name: Tradescantia sp.
Growing Conditions: Sun or shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall
Zones: 4-9
3. Butterfly Weed
These electric orange flowers will make your garden sing in the summer. Plus, they're pest, disease, and drought resistant, making them extremely easy to care for.
Name: Asclepias tuberosa
Growing Conditions: Full sun, well-drained soil
Size: To 4 feet tall
Zones: 4-10
4. Swamp Milkweed
All milkweeds are butterfly favorites, and swamp milkweed is no exception. While the name doesn't sound attractive, its lovely pink flowers will bloom mid-summer and attract plenty of monarch butterflies.
Name: Asclepias incarnata
Growing Conditions: Full sun, moist to average soils
Size: To 5 feet tall
Zones: 3-6
Mountain West
1. Rocky Mountain Columbine
These wildflowers are very easy to care for and add a graceful blue to your garden when they bloom in late spring to midsummer.
Plant Name: Aquilegia caerulea
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil
Size: To 2 feet tall and wide
Zones: 4-7
2. Liatris
Liatris can grow up to 5 feet tall and will stand out above most of your other plants. It's their vertical height that will add beautiful visual interest to your yard.
Plant Name: Liatris spicata
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 5 feet tall and 2 feet wide
Zones: 4-9
3. Purple Coneflower
This perennial may look charming, but it's tough as nails. It can grow in nearly any sunny spot and will bloom all summer long and well into the fall.
Plant Name: Echinacea purpurea
Growing Conditions: Rich soil, full sun, will tolerate some shade
Size: To 4 feet tall and wide
Zones: 3-9
4. Sedum
This reliable plant will come back each year with very low maintenance. It'll be one of the first perennials to emerge into spring and bloom through the end of fall. Butterflies also love the star-shaped blooms.
Plant Name: Sedum selections
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 2 feet tall and wide
Zones: 3-8
South
1. Hardy Hibiscus
The big, bold flowers of the hardy hibiscus are nearly the size of dinner plates. They'll adorn your garden through late summer and early fall and come in shades of red, pink, and white.
Name: Hibiscus moscheutos
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist soil
Size: To 8 feet tall
Zones: 5-10
2. Crested Iris
The crested iris bears delicate blue, white, or purple flowers in mid-spring. Even when not in bloom, its tiny clumps of foliage or still beautiful to look at.
Name: Iris cristata
Growing Conditions: Part sun to shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 1 foot tall
Zones: 3-9
3. Bee Balm
The aromatic foliage of bee balm makes it a butterfly and hummingbird magnet and is still ignored by deer and bunnies. Its bright red blooms will appear throughout the summer months.
Name: Monarda didyma
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 4 feet tall
Zones: 4-8
Southern California
1. African Iris
African iris are perfect for hard-to-grow spots. They'll even reward you with dozens of white flowers from spring through summer.
Plant Name: Dietes bicolor
Growing Conditions: Sun or shade and well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and wide
Zones: 8-11
2. Santa Barbara Daisy
Santa Barbara daisy spreads easily filling yoru garden with pink or purple flowers with yellow centers. Plant them now so they'll be ready to bloom when summer rolls around.
Plant Name: Erigeron karvinskianus
Growing Conditions: Part sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and wide
Zones: 5-7
3. Kangaroo Paw
These delicate flowers actually resemble a cute kangaroo's paw, and the 5-foot branches will add height to your garden. The plant will be covered with hairs and flower from spring to midsummer.
Plant Name: Anigozanthos selections
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 5 feet tall and 1 foot wide
Zones: 10-11
This article was written by Lauren Gaw.