Brightly Colored Perennial Flowers

Bright Yellow

• Coreopsis grandiflora "Domino" is a bright yellow form of coreopsis, growing to 18 inches in U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zones 4 through 9. The brilliant yellow rays of these flowers, which bloom from June into August, possess a dark maroon spot at their bases, making the yellow seem even gaudier. Use Domino in prairie gardens and perennial borders. It does well in dry soils. Butterflies and hummingbirds visit the goldenrod cultivar "Goldenmosa." Growing to 36 inches in clumps, Goldenmosa has bright yellow flowers and is suitable for USDA Zones 3 through 9. The flowers open in August and September, resembling what the Washington State University Clark County Extension describes as "golden feathers."

Bright Red

• Remove the spent flowers from beebalm (Monarda didyma) and the perennial blooms the entire summer. The bright red flowers attract butterflies, adding even more color combinations to butterfly gardens and your perennial gardens. Growing as tall as 48 inches, beebalm blooms bright red from June through August in USDA Zones 4 through 9. Wiry stems and leaves shaped like swords highlight the "Lucifer" cultivar of crocosmia. The perennial is appropriate for USDA Zones 5 through 9, growing to between 36 and 42 inches in full sun. Its bright red flowers blossom in mid- to late summer.

Bright Orange

• Bright orange/orange-yellow flowers are a staple of butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) a form of milkweed without the milky sap most species possess. Butterfly weed's showy flowers bring plenty of the winged insects into viewing range during their blooming period of June through August. Growing in Zones 3 through 9, butterfly weed matures to 30 inches and performs best in a full sun setting. The bloodflower (Asclepias curassavica) is a perennial with bright orange flowers, growing in Zones 9 through 11. Bloodflower is evergreen in these climates and a preferred food of the monarch butterfly, which lays its eggs on the plant. It grows between 18 and 24 inches tall and blooms from June until October.

Bright Purple

• Ice plant (Delosperma cooperi) is a South African perennial suited to USDA Zones 6 through 10. It grows to just 6 inches high, making it the right size for rock gardens and for ground cover. Bright reddish-purple flowers bloom on ice plant from June into September, with what the Missouri Botanical Garden calls "neon intensity." Shady borders, woodland gardens and even rock gardens are suitable sites for Primula "Wanda." This cultivar of pruhonicensis is 6 inches tall, blooms during April and has yellow centers amid its bright purple petals.