Spikes, clusters and plumes like the ones here — you can find hot-colored celosia in a variety of flower shapes. If you want more side branches, pinch the growing tips off young plants before they begin flowering in summer. They don’t need any trimming or deadheading otherwise.

Type Annual

Blooms Red, yellow and magenta from summer to frost

Light Full sun

Soil Well-drained

Size 10 to 36 in. tall, 8 to 24 in. wide

Heat-tolerant AHS zones 12 to 1

Bright and showy, gazanias prefer dry, hot conditions. In humid parts of the country, they can crash in midsummer. If that’s the case for you, grow gazanias as cool-weather annuals and replace them for the summer.

Type Tender perennial

Blooms Multicolored, daisylike flowers in summer

Light Full sun

Soil Well-drained

Size 8 to 12 in. tall, 6 to 10 in. wide

Cold-hardy USDA zones 10 to 11

Heat-tolerant AHS zones 12 to 1

Along a sunny sidewalk or driveway or at the top of a retaining wall are great locations for artemisia, where it can enjoy reflected heat and good drainage. Leave the dead tops in place to protect the crowns over winter, and cut them back only when you start to see new growth in the spring.

Type Perennial

Blooms Feathery silver foliage all summer

Light Full sun

Soil Well-drained

Size 8 to 60 in. tall, 10 to 36 in. wide

Cold-hardy USDA zones 3 to 10

Heat-tolerant AHS zones 10 to 1

Low maintenance, deer resistant, a butterfly magnet and drought-tolerant — this plant has it all! Deadheading will keep flowers coming until fall, but be patient if it doesn’t take off right away. Butterfly weed takes a year or two to get established, and if you need to move it, take care not to disturb its long taproot too much.

Type Perennial

Blooms Clusters of orange and yellow flowers in summer

Light Full sun

Soil Well-drained

Size 12 to 36 in. tall, 12 to 24 in. wide

Cold-hardy USDA zones 3 to 9

Heat-tolerant AHS zones 9 to 1