These plants are tried and true for full sun roofdeck.  They do require water!  Based on 10 years gardening on my South End, Boston roofdeck.

Perennials (come back every year)

• Blueberries – great berries and fall color, underplant with alyssum and lantana
• Shrub roses – white seafoam and pink fairy.
• Scabiosa – purple round, spiky flowers
• Coreopsis – many varieties – prolific bloomer all summer
• Heliopsis Lorraine Sunshine – underplant with annuals blue Felicitas and lobelia
• Coneflower/Echinacea – white, pink
• Rudbeckia – many varieties
• Indian Blanket Flower “Gaillardia artista” summers kiss – with lavender
• Daisies- many perennial varieties
• Walker’s Low – Nepata Faassenii…beautiful grey/green leaves with continuous flowering blue spikes. Cut back if flowering stops
• Susanna Mitchell – Anthemis Hybrid…delicate foliage with daisy flowers that close at night
• Lavender Provence, Hidcote (sometimes these just die over winter – not super hardy)
• All sedums – many, many varieties
• Daylillies Stella d’Oro daylilies (yellow), planted with lavender, lamium, and purple/white violas
• Nicotiana – several varieties/varying heights – white flowers

Annual Vines

• Mandevillas – these come in climbing vines (pink, white or red) or red bush varieties. Super bloomer
• “Candy corn” vine available from Hillbilly Acres nurseries…underplant with yellow lantana and alyssum
• Thunbergia (yellow flower) …underplant with alyssum, brachyscon, zinnias
• Morning Glories – I plant them everywhere – bloom in morning late summer and fall. Best bloomer by far is variety “Heavenly Blue”.  Can be invasive at ground level.
• Passion Flowers – totally beautiful flower, climbing vines in a variety of colors

Annuals  (Must buy every year)

• Arctotis Graadis – beautiful white flowers with silver leaves
• Verbena
• Hibiscus – these can be trimmed to be like trees or are in bush form. Continuous bloomer.  Tropical – bring indoors in winter…condition slowly to put outside again
• Zinnias – Always a winner all summer
• Double impatients – I am not a big fan of normal impatients but the double ones are fantastic, vibrant colors – a standard for me. Do better with partial shade but recover well after they are wilted.
• Bacopa – can be good bloomer all summer but may die off in heat spell/needs water
• Gaura Whirling Butterflies..G. Lindheimeri – Another standard planted with Euphorbia diamond frost
• Lantana –One of the best heat tolerant plants, variety of colors
• Allysum – totally heat tolerant and small white blooms all summer, low 2”
• Brachycon (Asteracea Brachyscome, lemon twist swan river daisy) – fine leaves and small yellow flowers, great for overflowing containers
• Double petunias – wave variety – these are the only plants that have survived in 5” deep hanging boxes
• Coleus – plant a mix of them in a container, don’t mix with other plants as they’ll take over
• Spearmint – great for mojitos
• Sunvitalia – very heat sensitive, cannot dry out
• Osteospermum – white with purple centers is my favorite
• Argyanthemum – prefer cooler weather so may die in hot spell
• Felicita – small blue flower (Felicia amelloides) good for underplanting