Some of my favorite summer blooms:

I used to say that I have a black thumb and I could even kill a silk plant. 

Over the last few years, I have found some plants that seem to thrive despite my black or perhaps brown thumb.  I like planting perrenials so they will live and thrive for years.

A favorite perennial of mine is homestead verbenna.  It makes a nice ground cover with lush purple flowers that bloom all summer.  It needs a lot of sun and can tolerate the high temperatures we have in Williamsburg during the summer. I planted these in late May in the flower bed by our mailbox and they are still thriving.

Another easy to grow perennial is coreopsis.  The blooms are yellow with dark red centers.  I planted these in the flower bed in front of my house.  The house faces north but the flower bed gets sun most of the day.

My hubby likes hanging baskets.  This is a picture of the impatiens that he has in a basket planter on our front porch.

Impatiens like a lot of shade and a lot of water.  I like to think they are impatient for water and not very patient if planted in the sun.