What Blooms in Summer? A Guide to the Season's Stars

The summer season runs in waves, not as a single block. Anyone planning ahead — for a summer wedding or a celebration — should know this: peonies are the early starters, usually only available in good quality from May to mid/late June. Sweet peas and delphinium bridge high summer from June to August. Sunflowers and dahlias are the late-summer stars, carrying from July well into October. Ask for a peony in August and you will get — if anything — expensive imported stock without the characteristic scent.

The five classics and what they stand for: the peony embodies beauty, prosperity and a happy marriage — no surprise it is the bridal flower par excellence. The sunflower stands for warmth, cheerfulness and an honest ‘I like you’. The dahlia symbolises strength, dignity and elegance — admirers love its almost geometric flower form. The sweet pea has, since the Victorian era, been the flower of tender farewell and gratitude, and seduces with its scent. The delphinium, finally, brings lightness and good cheer with its pure blue — one of the very few genuinely blue blooms there is.

Here is how to combine the season correctly. 1. Choose a lead flower with size and character — peony in early summer, dahlia in late summer. 2. Add a vertical line for height and structure: delphinium or gladioli draw the eye upward. 3. Scatter in airy filler flowers — sweet peas, cornflowers or marguerites loosen up dense bouquets. 4. One or two sunflowers set colour accents but dominate quickly — use them sparingly. 5. Stay within one colour family or a clear contrast; everything mixed at random looks restless.

A safety note that often gets lost in a summer bouquet: several of the loveliest seasonal flowers are toxic. Delphinium contains alkaloids in all parts of the plant — it was even named ‘poisonous plant of the year’ in Germany in 2015 — and is especially dangerous for pets. Sweet peas are toxic too, above all the seeds, which can cause poisoning (lathyrism) in humans if eaten in larger amounts. This is no reason to avoid these flowers: in the vase they are harmless. But place them out of reach of cats, dogs and small children, and wash your hands after arranging.

Why seasonal stock is almost always the better choice in summer. A peony that comes from a regional field in June has a short journey behind it, opens reliably and lasts longer than an import bud chilled for months. This is exactly where the daily buying trip to the Veiling Rhein-Maas pays off — we fetch whatever is currently in bloom instead of carrying the same handful of varieties all year. If you go for what is actually flowering outside in summer, you get more freshness, more scent and usually the better price too.

What happens after summer? The transition is fluid. Asters and chrysanthemums take over from late summer and lead gently into the autumn season. Dahlias keep blooming until the first frost, making them the great bridge between the seasons. So if you still want a summery look in September, reach for dahlias — and add the first asters, rather than searching desperately for peonies that are long gone.