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Photo Credit: Lane Greer

The demure white blooms of seven-son flower drop off to reveal dark red sepals that last until winter.

A friend of mine once said she loves fall, because that’s when she feels justified in ripping out all of her annuals and veggies. Ever feel like summer’s just dragging on and on? Missing the bright freshness your garden had in spring? If you’re looking for a few good plants for summer interest, consider planting one of these beauties:

Seven-son flower (Heptacodium miconioides) is often referred to as “the crape myrtle of the North.” But don’t let that title fool you. Although this deciduous tree flowers in late summer and has interesting bark, it’s nothing like a crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia).

The plant is interesting in a subtle way. Its name, seven-son flower, derives from the fact that the flowers are arranged in clusters of seven. These small, fragrant blooms are white (no bright reds and watermelon pinks here), but the flowers fall off to reveal very showy, dusky red sepals that last all season long. The bark isn’t muscular like crape myrtle – it peels off to reveal tan, pink and cinnamon underneath.

Hardy in USDA hardiness zones 5-8, seven-son flower grows fast in full sun (or some shade in the Deep South), and butterflies love it! It reaches 15-20 feet tall and 8 feet wide in a loose, vaselike shape with an open profile. You can plant it in almost any soil. And even better: It’s overall pest-free.

Seven-son flower blooms on the current year’s wood, so you can cut it back in early spring, just as you would butterfly bush. To get new plants, take cuttings in summer.

Another summer-flowering tree is sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum), a southeast US native. The white flowers form long panicles, or branching flower clusters, that open in midsummer. Perhaps even better than the flowers are the bright orange and scarlet colors in fall.