My recent quest for hot summer colors in local nurseries proved to be more rewarding than I could have expected. I was greeted with a virtual feast of color.

     More new plant varieties arrive in nurseries each year, and the names alone are enough to make you want them all. ‘Lemon Éclair’ and ‘Mystic Spires’ are too tempting to ignore. I have spent hours reading labels at nurseries, and I consider the time well spent even though my yard couldn’t possibly hold all the plants I covet.

     Visiting just after a prolonged hot spell, I noticed that yellow flowers fared better than red ones. The dark red ‘Ingrid Bergman’ hybrid tea roses were fried, while the bright yellow ‘Simplicity’ hedge roses were holding up beautifully.

     The color scheme in my garden depends on the plants that students bring to the garden class at the senior center. We all usually come away with cuttings, seeds or a plant every week. So I have red and pink hollyhocks next to yellow ‘Copper Canyon’ daisies (Tagetes lemmonii), next to blue lily-of-the-Nile (agapanthus), next to ‘Cosmic Orange’ coreopsis.

     Anything goes. Once, while attending an outdoor wedding in Scottsdale, I couldn’t keep my eyes off the landscape. The mix of red, orange and yellow flowers seemed to anticipate the approaching sunset. I remember that vivid combination better than I do the wedding.

     ‘Red Hot Sally,’ an annual salvia, is an old favorite for planting in a patriotic combination with the blue salvia ‘Mystic Spires’ or the blue pincushion flower (scabiosa) and white bacopa (Sutera cordata) or ‘Carpet of Snow’ sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima).

       Of course petunias come in all of these colors and make a grand statement, but they are vulnerable to the budworm. If your petunias are afflicted, cut off all the flowers and dispose of them in the yard-waste bin. The following bloom should be more successful.

      Transvaal daisies (Gerbera jamesonii) come in pure reds and yellows. Add a background of salvia for a handsome combination. The salvia family includes 900 different species, so you have many choices. Salvia guaranitica (anise-scented salvia) includes the light blue ‘Argentine Skies’ as well as the true-blue ‘Costa Rica Blue.’ Salvia elegans (pineapple sage) has bright red blooms, and the foliage smells just like pineapple. Salvia clevelandii, or California blue sage, grows five feet tall, with fragrant foliage and lavender-blue flowers.All these salvias attract birds, bees and butterflies.

     Penstemon (beard tongue) has a mere 250 species. These perennials grow with little care almost anywhere in California. Look for the pale pink ‘Apple Blossom,’ the dark maroon ‘Blackbird,’ and the scarlet ‘Garnet’ varieties.

     The most popular summer flower is probably the sunflower (helianthus). Sunflower varieties range from small bedding plants to monsters more than six feet tall. Try ‘Pacino Lemon,’ ‘Lemon Eclair’ and ‘Del Sol.’

     Nasturtiums (tropaeolum) are probably climbing your fences by now. These are wonderful annuals for children to plant as the seeds are large, resembling garbanzo beans. Some varieties are climbers, others are more compact. The edible flowers come in a range of sunny colors, including brilliant yellow, orange and red.

      White is the focal point that catches the eye in any garden. My favorite landscape plant is the ‘Iceberg’ rose, even if it blooms mainly in spring and fall. White geraniums and the Oriental lily ‘Casablanca’ are other good choices.

     In shade, possibilities include white impatiens backed by white fibrous begonias, with lace-cap hydrangeas in the background. This monochromatic color scheme is stunning in dappled sunlight, and all those plants have the same water, soil and fertilizer needs.