Colorful long blooming perennial flowerbed full sun

[Toto7SC]

Hi,
I am looking for the perfect scenario for a flower bed I am planning which probably means that I am pretty limited in my flower selection. Which flowers do you recommend? It is very important that the flowers are long blooming. I am not a fan of very pretty flowers that I get to look at for only one week in the entire year. We live in hardiness zone 8.
Here is what I would need:
Perennial
Colorful
Long blooming (!)
Full sun
Easy care
Any ideas? Thank you in advance.

 

[marlingardener]

Knock-out roses, especially the multi-petaled ones fit your description. Also almost any of the antique roses, lantana, rock rose (pavonia) which comes in several varieties.
We are in 8b, but in Texas. Your zone 8 may be entirely different from ours, so take the above under advisement!

 

[Toto7SC]

Thank you. We are in the Upstate of SC which I think is 8a. we have a lot of double knock-out roses in our yard already and they are doing really really well. But now I am looking more for a flower garden.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I am not a fan of very pretty flowers that I get to look at for only one week

I've got two perfect suggestions for you, and they're both in this photo.

Gaillardia (Blanket Flower) is a short-lived perennial that is easy to keep around by reseeding. It will bloom all year if you deadhead it, which isn't too difficult to manage. Here in Wisconsin, it blooms from June to through October.

Orange Milkweed is a must for gardens in the US. Not only is it a food source for Monarch Caterpillars, which is helping to keep the Monarch population alive, but its bright orange flowers bloom all Summer. Here in Wisconsin, it blooms from June to September. If you live in the Monarch's range, you will definitely seem them attracted to this plant. They look great if you plant a few together. This plant won't need any care, it'll do just fine.

You could also add Purple Coneflowers (The true native variety, not hybrids or cultivars), which Monarchs and other butterflies love to drink nectar from. They also bloom for a couple months during the Summer.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

depending on the size of this bed your talking about. adding short in height blooming shrubs is good to fill in areas.

 

[LIcenter]

I think you will be hardpressed to find much in the world of perennial plants which bloom all summer long. What many gardeners do is plant many varieties of perennials that have different bloom times. With that being said, one of my favorite plants is Maiden pink(Dianthus deltoides) When the blooms fade, just simply deadhead with a pair of scissors to get a second bloom.

http://www.finegardening.com/maiden-pink-dianthus-deltoides

 

[Esther Knapicius]

what I have done with my perennial garden, is to also pick what the plant looks like not in bloom, the leaf size, the color etc. For example Coral bells come in a wonderful leaf variety, that even without the bloom are sensational. There are lots of astilbies, who's leaves remain a nice red green color,

 

[cas]

I have purple cone flowers that bloom for at least two months. Litatris (which is also shown in the picture) blooms for a month.

 

[TKP665]

you did not mention what zone you are in ... full sun isn't enough, some plants might be full sun in Iowa but in Florida they will wither and die from the heat. All of these are low maintenance and hardy in my experience.

The easiest and best performers I've grown, all can take zone 9 heat ...
marigolds (bloom from Mar to August)
hibiscus (most bloom practically all year)
daisies or rudibeckia or coneflowers
salvias (many bloom all year, my "hot lips" does)
vinca major
knockout roses (well, more maintenance than the above, but long blooming periods)

 

[JBtheExplorer]

you did not mention what zone you are in ...

@Toto7SC said "We live in hardiness zone 8."