20 Best Patio Plants for Instant Curb Appeal This Summer

Silvery foliage, purple-blue flowers, and a sweet scent make lavender a welcome perennial for pots and planting beds. Bonus: Collect the flowers for making scones or herb butters, or dry them to make sachets for your lingerie drawer. It needs full sun to flower.

Varieties to try: Thumbelina Leigh, Sweet Romance

This sturdy annual comes in colors ranging from lime green to reddish-purple, with many different leaf shapes and heights. The flowers are insignificant, but the foliage is a handsome addition to containers of mixed annuals. Most types prefer shade, though some newer varieties tolerate sun.

Varieties to try: Chocolate Mint, ColorBlaze Golden Dreams

Succulents are easy to grow and come in hundreds of colors, shapes, and sizes! Some types tolerate extreme cold; read the tag to make sure the ones you purchase are suited to your USDA Hardiness zone (or you should dig them up to bring indoors as house plants for winter). They like full sun and are drought-tolerant once established.

Varieties to try: Jet Beads, Hens and Chicks

Most ornamental grasses are perennial, but if you choose to grow them in pots, they’ll be about two zones less hardy than the plant tag says. For example, if a plant is hardy to zone 5, it’s only safe to say it will survive a zone 7 winter in a pot. They make a nice privacy screen if planted in large pots along the edge of your patio. They need full sun.

Varieties to try: Feather Reed Grass, Purple Fountain Grass

These tiny flowers that look like miniature snapdragons bloom from spring to fall. Nemesia prefers part sun in hot climates with afternoon shade, and full sun in cooler climates.

Varieties to try: Sunsatia Blood Orange, Bluebird

If you’re looking for an eye-catching plant with huge leaves in bright colors, try caladiums. They are tropical plants that love the heat! Bring the pots indoors in winter to enjoy as a house plant.

Varieties to try: Florida Moonlight, Red Flash

Begonias come in a staggering array of colors and types, and some are grown strictly for their showy foliage. They’re usually treated as annuals, though you can try overwintering them indoors for winter (Full disclosure: They’re a little messy indoors because they'll drop leaves). They prefer mostly shade.

Varieties to try: Sparks Will Fly, Funky Pink

This hardy perennial has soft, silvery foliage that resembles little lamb ears (as you may have guessed from the name!). They make a nice edging plant to transition from lawn to patio, or add them to mixed planters. They grow in almost any soil type and prefer full sun, but will tolerate some shade.

Varieties to try: Big Ears, Cotton Boll

If you have a shady patio, this dramatic annual is for you! With stunning flowers in shades of red, purple or pink, they’re absolutely gorgeous draping over the edges of hanging baskets or window boxes. Plus, hummingbirds and butterflies love them.

Varieties to try: Dark Eyes, Swing Time

This delicate annual with a sweet fragrance is lovely cascading from hanging baskets or window boxes. It tolerates a light frost so it has a very long bloom time. Alyssum likes full sun but can handle a little shade.

Varieties to try: Snow Princess, Blushing Princess

Gourmet greens and baby lettuce are super-expensive at the grocery store, so why not grow them yourself? Plant in pots or window boxes, sprinkling seeds heavily over soil, then keep moist until they sprout. Cut as needed when a few inches tall. Opt for a mix, and give greens of all types plenty of sun.

Varieties to try: Tuscan baby leaf kale, Lettuce Sandy

To answer your question, yes Creeping Thyme is a relative of the herb. Purple is the most popular, but the blooms come in other colors. It basically creates a pretty floral carpet for your patio, just don't step on it!

Varieties to try: White, Purple, and Red Creeping Thyme

These old-fashioned annuals, which your grandma may have grown, have trumpet-shaped flowers that open in late afternoon, as the name suggests. They grow easily from seed. Plant them near a window or outdoor seating so you can enjoy their sweet scent.

Varieties to try: Broken Colors, Scented Peach Sunset

Unlike vining or heirloom tomatoes, which need staking, many new varieties of cherry tomatoes grow in bush form, so they work well in pots or hanging baskets. They need at least six hours of full sun a day.

Varieties to try: Goodhearted, Patio Choice Yellow

Eggplant may not be the first plant you think of as an ornamental, but they’re quite attractive, especially when the adorable baby eggplants begin to mature. New types are compact and ideal for containers, and they have thornless leaves so they’re easy to harvest. They must have full sun.

Varieties to try: Patio Baby, Fairy Tale

Peppers come in an array of shapes and sizes with varying degrees of spiciness. While older types usually need staking, some new varieties are more compact so they work well in containers. Some types yield little peppers that are just two to three inches across! All peppers need full sun.

Varieties to try: Sweetie Pie, Mad Hatter

Berries are expensive and don’t last that long at the market, so they’re great to grow yourself. Traditional blueberry bushes make a solid barrier hedge, but they have long, thorny canes that can be difficult to manage. Newer varieties have been developed to be thornless and compact, so they’ll fit nicely in decorative pots.

Varieties to try: Jelly Bean, Peach Sorbet

Pollinators absolutely adore cuphea, which is also called firecracker plant. Cool! With its bright orange, red or purple tubular flowers, you’ll enjoy brilliant color from this annual all season long. It needs full sun and loves heat, but keep it watered.

Varieties to try: Vermillionaire, Flamenco Samba

These pretty little plants that look adorable in baskets and containers. Give them plenty of sun, and enjoy their bright red fruit all season long.

Varieties to try: Delizz, Berried Treasure

This vigorous annual comes in colors from bright lime green to maroon. The leaves may be slightly rounded or more angular in shape. Give it plenty of space to stretch, as it can crowd other plants in the container. It tolerates part shade.

Varieties to try: Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Lime, Sweet Caroline Red Hawk