Colorful Plants for Full Sun

As with many flowers on this list, Black-eyed Susan LOVES the sun! They will tolerate partial shade but do their best in sunny areas! These a a bright pop of yellow to add to any butterfly garden!

Zones 3 to 9 | Full Sun and Part Sun | Perennial

I always image Russian Sage as a big burly, tattooed guy with a soft side. They will "plant-spread" (that's my flower equivalent to "man-spreading") and take up a ton of space if you let them. They have gorgeous blue/purple fragrant flowers and keep looking great even when temps cool!

Zones 4 to 9 | Full Sun | Perennial

The hardy Hibiscus flower is also known as The Rose of Sharon. Here in Houston (Zone 9a) we LOVE these huge, colorful blooms and they thrive year round for us. The blooms can be as big as dinner plates! Not a great cut flower, but amazing in the garden for pollinators.

Zones 5 to 9 | Full Sun and Part Sun | Perennial

These tall plants are also known as summer snapdragons. They mostly bloom in cooler colors of blues and purple variety. They don't require deadheading and will bloom all summer long until the cooler temps hit in late fall. We grow as a perennial here and an annual in colder climates.

Zones 9 to 11 | Full Sun | Perennial

These are one of the more popular full-sun annuals because they bloom all summer long! They have orange, gold, or a bright yellow flowers and dark green foliage. These plants love well-drained soil and are pretty low maintenance. Deadheading is not required but it will help the plants produce more blooms!

Zones 2 to 11 | Full Sun | Annual

These flowers have become one of my FAVORITES! They are so easy to grow and one of the BEST full-sun flowers. They spread like crazy and come in a wide range of colors. They actually act as a sort of ground cover the way they spread. This also makes them one of the best plants for hanging baskets or spillers in containers.

Zones 9 to 11 | Full Sun | Annual

A favorite of pollinators, these are one of the best perennial flower! They are daisy-like flowers most commonly found with purple flowers. They will keep your flower beds looking good late summer through late fall with their beautiful blooms!

Zones 3 to 9 | Full Sun | Perennial

These have become one of my new favorites! I love the superbells variety! I have both pink and purple in my back garden beds.  They remind me of smaller petunias. They are the types of flowers that stay low and spread. They also come in a TON of colors! My favorite is the white flowers with the yellow center called "over easy" - so cute!

Zones 9 to 11 | Full Sun | Annual

Instead of bright colors, cosmos are a bit more airy and have lighter pastel blooms. They're grown easily from seeds and make a gorgeous long-lasting cut flower. These beautiful flowers can grow pretty tall and look best if you're into a wispy, cottage style garden.

Zones 2 to 11 | Full Sun | Annual

Also known as Larkspur, these showy flowers are some of best flowers for cutting! They do great with sun, are not heat-tolerant plants. That means in a planting zone like mine (9) they are considered an annual. These have a fairly short growing season, and grow best in mild climates.

Zones 3 to 7 | Full Sun to Part Sun | Perennial

Foxglove is another beautiful, tall flower that looks amazing in the back of your flower beds. They are examples of plants that are biennial - meaning they live 2 years. They are very poisonous but this also makes them deer resistant!-

Zones 4-9 | Full Sun to Part Sun | Biennial

These flowers are actually considered house plants but will do quite well in your full sun garden! Usually found with red flowers or shades of pink, they are fantastic in containers that can easily be brought indoors in the fall months when it gets too cold for them to stay outside. This makes them a beautiful perennial plants with a bit of care in other zones.

Zones 10-9 | Full Sun | Perennial

This beautiful, bushy plant loves to fill out whatever space it's in. Either a garden or a pot! They have so many gorgeous colors too. My favorite is my "Skittles Lantana" because it has bright pink and yellow flowers. They look like little candies! They are a wonderful evergreen shrub for your perennial garden.

Zones 8-11 | Full Sun | Perennial

I always think of pansies as winter flowers because here in the south where the full sun also brings high temperatures, these flowers don't bloom well in the summer. They can handle the sun, but the heat is what gets them. If you live in a climate where your summers are mild, they will add a ton of color to your summer garden. For those of us with mild winters, these beauties will be beautiful all autumn and winter! And colder climates can also treat them as perennials!

Zones 2-9 | Full Sun to Part Sun | Perennial or Annual

These are my absolute favorite and unfortunately it doesn't get cold enough in my zone to grow them. Peonies need the cold of winter so they grow beautiful buds in the spring. They have huge, pink flowers that bloom from late spring though early summer. They are sun-loving plants that will be an amazing addition to your full sun garden.

Zones 3-8 | Full Sun | Perennial

These delicate flowers have beautiful, red blooms and a soft, papery petal. They have a short blooming window and usually only put out blooms for a couple weeks. Because of this, they make a great addition to your garden beds paired with long blooming sun-loving plants. They also are NOT fans of summer heat and don't thrive past zone 8.

Zones 2-8 | Full Sun | Perennial

These tall, full sun plants grow in a variety of colors and are examples of plants that come in almost every color! They begin blooming in early spring, and thrive in sunny spots that don't get too hot! They do best in early summer and even in early fall before freezes.

Zones 7-10 | Full Sun and Part Sun | Annual

We love Cannas! They are a very tall plant that grows best in the back of your garden beds or along the edges. They would also do great in rock gardens! They are a very hardy perennial that thrive with little care! I've transplanted mine several times and even forgotten them for months at a time and they did great! Their paddle shaped leaves are beautiful and have pretty blooms summer and fall!

Zones 7-11 | Full Sun | Perennial

These are one of the most popular annuals in North America! They are probably the easiest to grow from seed. They love sunny climates, require little maintenance, have a long bloom time and bloom profusely!

Zones 3-10 | Full Sun | Annual

Blue flowers are harder to find than say pink flowers, and these full sun perennials produce beautiful long last blooms and some varieties do well with part sun! Cottage garden lovers will enjoy these low maintenance plants. They thrive in well drained soil and because of this they make a great addition to a rock garden as well!

Zones 3-9 | Full Sun and Part Sun | Perennial

This low, bushy shrub puts off the most beautiful blue flowers! We had them along our fence for years and they do well even in poor soil! (I didn't add anything when we first planted them!) They do GREAT through hot summers and dry spells! They are a super easy care plant and one of my favorite outdoor plants.

Zones 8-11 | Full Sun | Perennial

These are some of the best flowers to attract pollinators! They will bloom all summer long and thrive as full-sun perennials in tropical climates like my USDA zone 9a. After our neighbor moved out, the pentas in her garden last years even without any care! They do tend to dry out quickly so don't love dry conditions.

Zones 10-11 | Full Sun | Annual and Perennial

This flower is also called Tickseed. Not a fun name but they have beautiful, tiny little blooms! They are great companion plants for ornamental grass and grow great in full sun conditions! They are super hardy and some of the best perennial flowers as they last all season long and stay blooming even as others start to die back.

Zones 4-9 | Full Sun | Perennial

Also known as "Rocktrumpet" and I think with a name like that, you're gonna love it! They are vine plants that do great in containers! They have large tropical blooms and are not freeze tolerant so will need care in the cold months. The good news is other than that they are low maintenance and bloom for a long time. They're a great vertical option for your garden that gets several hours of direct sunlight each day!

Zones 10-11 | Full Sun | Perennial and Annual

A beautiful perineal with red and yellow flowers. They are tough, native plants that thrive to hot and dry climates so do well even in hard conditions! They bloom like crazy even in poor soil! You can't give them too much sun and they will reward you with their warm, colorful blooms!

Zones 3-10 | Full Sun | Perennial