Top 10 Southern Summer Blooms From Florida

These plants may be tough and they have to be to stand the heat, but they are certainly showy. They are all growing in a single Florida garden and demonstrate what will thrive in this location. This gallery of southern summer blooms has been compiled by Douglas Hunt whose article I came across on the Hometalk website.

It takes a tough plant to handle the heat and humidity of a Florida summer. Come along with me for a tour of some from my garden that not only handle it, but put on a beautiful show while doing so.

Firebush (Hamelia patens) can be killed back to the ground if we have a hard freeze, but because we haven’t had one in two years, mine are now easily 8 feet high and wide. Zebra longwing butterflies love this plant. Zones 8b to 10

Necklace pod (Sophora tomentosa) is one of my favorite native shrubs. It has a graceful habit to 6-8 feet high and wide, lovely gray-green foliage, and these very showy yellow flowers. Zones 9 to 11

I planted a few scarlet milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) a few years ago and all the ones I have now are reseeded from those. They are in a rather shady spot, so somewhat spindly, but the monarchs don’t mind. Zones 8b to 11

Mexican honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera) is a cousin of the more showy pink Justicia carnea. While that one has never done well for me, this version has turned into a lovely shrub of about 3 feet high and wide. It would probably flower more in more sun. Zones 8 to 11