By Abby Lapides

This article was first published in The Gateway Gardener.

Want your garden to flower all season long?

It doesn’t have to be a head-scratcher. Follow the easy-to-read blooming chart below to create an all-season flowering garden. Though most plants follow the bloom times laid out in the chart, some outliers with exceptionally ornate displays bust the chart. See a few of these blooming powerhouses below.

Cardinal Flowers, Lobelia, bring vibrant flowers and the ability to attract hummingbirds. The new Starship Series extends flowering months longer than the classics. Expect to see more flowers earlier and on squattier, better-branched plants. Their colors include rose pink, blue and scarlet red.

‘Indian Summer’ Black-Eyed Susan, Rudbeckia, produces huge, up to 7” across, daisies for months on end, beginning in June. Also known as the gloriosa daisy for its incredibly showy bloom, you will be in awe all summer until frost. This All America Selections award winner is a must for cut flower enthusiasts.

A true mold-breaker in bloom power and flower shape,  ‘Rooguchi’ Clematis features masses of dark, inky-blue bell-shaped flowers that begin in May and don’t stop until frost. ‘Rooguchi’ is a cross between the popular vining type Clematis and the lesser-known shrub type. Because of its parentage ‘Rooguchi’ does not have the petioles that twine onto trellises, making it a great choice to be planted on an obelisk or used as a rambling ground cover.

While ‘Holy Grail’ Hardy Hibiscus, pictured above, doesn’t bloom longer than other hardy hibiscus, it does bloom in more abundance on showier plants. Huge cranberry red flowers bloom from midsummer until frost.