Summer gardens have a way of softening everything, especially when you add in heart-shaped flowers that feel like little love notes from nature. The first time I saw a bleeding heart in full bloom, I stopped in my tracks—it was delicate, unexpected, and somehow emotional.
These blooms aren’t just pretty; they carry a quiet kind of symbolism that turns ordinary flower beds into places that feel deeply personal. Whether you’re planning a celebration or just want a garden that tugs at the heartstrings, these flowers do more than just decorate.
From airy vines to bold perennials, heart-shaped blooms can weave a romantic thread through any summer space. They’re the kind of flowers that make people pause, smile, and maybe even feel something.
1. Bleeding Heart
During summer months, these delicate pink or white blooms dangle from arching stems like tiny valentines. The perfectly formed heart shape splits at the bottom, creating what looks like a drop – hence the romantic name.
Growing best in partial shade, these perennials return year after year with minimal fuss. I’ve found they make wonderful companions for ferns and hostas in woodland-inspired gardens where they can be protected from harsh afternoon sun.
The old-fashioned charm of these flowers connects today’s gardens with those of our grandparents’ era. Plant them where you can enjoy their details up close – perhaps along a garden path or near a seating area where their heart-shaped blooms can be appreciated.
2. Morning Glory
Looking skyward in early summer mornings reveals these heart-shaped blooms climbing toward the sun. Morning glories unfurl their delicate trumpets as dawn breaks, showing off colors from deep purple to heavenly blue, often with contrasting star-shaped centers.
Training these annual climbers on trellises creates vertical interest in the garden. Their heart-shaped leaves complement the flowers, doubling the romantic effect as they twist and wind their way upward, sometimes growing several inches in a single day.
What makes these flowers special is their ephemeral nature – each bloom lasts only a day. There’s something poignant about their brief display that reminds me to appreciate beauty in the moment, making morning glory hearts a philosophical addition to summer gardens.
3. Anthurium
Often called flamingo flower, this tropical beauty features a waxy, heart-shaped bloom that’s actually a modified leaf called a spathe. The glossy red, pink, or white surface catches light beautifully, creating a sophisticated focal point in container gardens.
Many gardeners don’t realize anthuriums can spend summer outdoors in warm climates. They thrive in humid conditions with filtered light, making them perfect for protected patios or beneath tree canopies where they won’t get direct sun.
The long-lasting blooms make this plant exceptionally rewarding. Unlike fleeting flowers that fade within days, these heart shapes persist for weeks or even months. Their exotic appearance belies how relatively simple they are to care for – just avoid cold temperatures and provide consistent moisture.
4. Cyclamen
Summer-flowering cyclamen varieties offer dainty blooms that flutter above mottled, heart-shaped foliage. The upswept petals resemble butterfly wings, creating an ethereal quality in shaded garden spots where few other plants thrive in summer heat.
The silver-marbled leaves form perfect heart shapes that hug the ground in attractive rosettes. This foliage often provides visual interest long after flowers have faded, creating a carpet effect that suppresses weeds naturally while adding textural contrast to garden beds.
Gardening friends often express surprise when I point out how the leaves form perfect hearts. These plants have accompanied me through several garden designs over the years, always earning compliments for their subtle elegance and ability to brighten difficult spots where other flowers struggle.
5. Hoya Kerrii
Sometimes called sweetheart plant, this unique succulent features thick, waxy leaves shaped exactly like valentine hearts. The emerald green foliage has a three-dimensional quality that stands out among more traditional garden choices during summer months.
Hoya thrives in hanging baskets where its vining nature can develop fully. The occasional clusters of star-shaped, honey-scented flowers add another dimension of interest, though it’s really the distinctive heart-shaped leaves that steal the show in any arrangement.
Last summer, I placed a small container of hoya near my garden bench, and visitors invariably reached out to touch the firm, heart-shaped leaves. There’s something irresistibly tactile about them that encourages interaction, making this plant a wonderful conversation starter in social garden spaces.
6. Love-In-A-Mist
The name itself evokes romance, but it’s the heart-shaped seed pods that follow the delicate blue flowers that earn this annual a place in our list. After the feathery-leaved blooms fade in midsummer, the swollen seed capsules develop distinct heart silhouettes.
Scattered throughout cottage gardens, these plants bring a touch of wildness with their self-seeding habit. Their airy quality allows them to weave between more substantial perennials without overwhelming neighboring plants.
The dried seed pods can be harvested for arrangements, preserving their heart shapes indefinitely. Gardeners with a crafty streak might appreciate knowing these pods retain their form for years when dried properly, making them useful beyond the growing season for wreaths and botanical displays.
7. String Of Hearts
Cascading from hanging baskets, this trailing succulent showcases miniature heart-shaped leaves along thin, purple stems. The tiny hearts appear strung together like natural garlands, creating living curtains of romance in summer garden spaces.
The variegated pink and green coloration adds subtle charm without overwhelming more dramatic garden elements. When summer breezes stir, the delicate strands sway gently, adding movement to still corners of patios and porches.
String of hearts thrives with minimal attention, making it ideal for busy gardeners. The plant has traveled with me through three different homes, always adapting to new conditions with resilience. Its ability to propagate easily from cuttings makes it a thoughtful gift for gardening friends – truly a plant that keeps on giving.
8. Calla Lily
While typically associated with elegant arrangements, calla lilies bring sophisticated heart shapes to summer gardens. The graceful curves of their spathe (the part we think of as the flower) create subtle heart outlines, especially in varieties with wider blooms.
Summer sun brings out their best performance in garden beds with consistent moisture. The glossy, arrow-shaped leaves provide a lush backdrop that makes the flowers seem to float above the foliage, creating a layered effect in mixed plantings.
The range of available colors has expanded dramatically in recent years. Beyond classic white, garden centers now offer callas in buttery yellow, deep burgundy, and even near-black varieties. These hues bring contemporary flair to the traditional heart shape, updating the romantic symbolism for garden designs.
9. Ivy-Leaved Geranium
Trailing from window boxes and hanging baskets, these summer bloomers feature distinctly heart-shaped leaves with scalloped edges. The foliage forms a romantic cascade that softens hard architectural lines of buildings and garden structures.
Unlike their upright cousins, ivy geraniums prefer cooler spots where they can spread horizontally or trail downward. The contrast between the heart-shaped greenery and the rounded flower clusters creates a balanced visual rhythm that’s especially appealing in elevated planters.
During particularly hot spells last summer, these proved remarkably resilient in my east-facing planters. While other flowers faltered, the heart-shaped leaves continued providing structure and interest. Their slightly succulent nature helps them store water, an adaptation that serves both plant and busy gardener well during summer’s challenges.
10. Water Lily
Floating serenely on summer pond surfaces, water lilies display heart-shaped leaves that create natural platforms for dragonflies and other garden visitors. The rounded hearts fan out from central points, creating living mosaic patterns across the water.
The contrast between the flat leaves and the dimensional flowers rising above them creates natural focal points in water features. Sunlight plays across the heart shapes throughout the day, changing how they appear from morning to evening.
Small garden ponds can accommodate dwarf varieties that bring the same heart-shaped charm in scaled-down form. Even a large container on a patio can host miniature water lilies, bringing the romantic symbolism of heart-shaped leaves to gardens without traditional ponds or streams.
11. Caladium
Summer shade gardens light up with caladium’s dramatic heart-shaped leaves in combinations of pink, red, white, and green. The paper-thin quality of these tropical leaves allows light to pass through, creating a stained-glass effect in dappled garden settings.
Often called angel wings, these tubers emerge when soil warms, unfurling their romantic shapes throughout summer months. The absence of significant flowers doesn’t diminish their impact – the foliage itself provides more color and pattern than most blooming plants could offer.
The heart shapes seem to float above the ground on slender stems. Watching a breeze move through a bed of caladiums creates a magical effect, as if dozens of valentine hearts are dancing just above the soil surface. Few plants offer such distinctive leaf shapes with so little maintenance required.
12. Moonflower
As summer evenings arrive, these dramatic vines unfurl large, heart-shaped white blooms that seem to glow in the gathering darkness. The flowers open in a mesmerizing spiral motion over about 15 minutes, making their daily debut a garden event worth watching with a glass of something refreshing in hand.
Related to morning glories, moonflowers feature similar heart-shaped leaves but save their floral display for nighttime enjoyment. Planting them near evening gathering spaces allows their sweet vanilla fragrance to enhance summer dinner parties and quiet conversations.
The romantic timing of these blooms – opening at dusk and closing by morning – creates a sense of fleeting beauty that feels especially poignant. Gardens that incorporate these temporal elements connect us to nature’s rhythms in ways that daytime-only plantings sometimes miss.
13. Sweet Potato Vine
Garden designers frequently turn to this vigorous annual for its perfectly heart-shaped leaves that spill dramatically from containers and garden edges. Available in lime green, deep purple, or bronze, these hearts create rivers of color throughout summer months.
The trailing habit makes sweet potato vine ideal for softening hardscape elements in the garden. Allowing it to cascade over retaining walls or spread between stepping stones introduces heart shapes at ground level, creating continuity through different garden zones.
Unlike many ornamental plants, this one hides a secret beneath the soil – actual sweet potatoes form as the season progresses. While not as tasty as grocery varieties, discovering these surprise treasures when cleaning up fall gardens always feels like finding buried garden gifts.
14. Dutchman’s Pipe
Creating natural privacy screens through summer months, this vigorous climber features enormous heart-shaped leaves that overlap to form living walls. The deep green hearts can reach 10 inches across, creating dramatic backdrop effects for smaller, more delicate garden elements.
While the unusual pipe-shaped flowers give this vine its common name, it’s really the magnificent heart-shaped foliage that makes it garden-worthy. The leaves emerge with a bronze tint before maturing to rich green, adding seasonal color transitions to vertical spaces.
Last year, butterflies consistently visited my Dutchman’s pipe, using the large heart leaves as landing pads. The substantial foliage provides excellent habitat for beneficial insects while screening less attractive views – a combination of practical and aesthetic benefits that few garden plants can match.
15. Bergenia
Sometimes called pigsqueak for the sound made when rubbing its leaves, bergenia features glossy, leathery hearts that form attractive ground-level rosettes in summer gardens. The substantial leaves maintain good form even through heat waves when more delicate plants might wilt.
Early summer brings clusters of pink flowers held above the foliage on sturdy stems. The contrast between the heart-shaped greenery and the rounded flower clusters creates visual rhythm that’s especially effective in mass plantings along garden borders.
The year-round presence of these heart shapes makes bergenia particularly valuable in garden design. Even after flowers fade, the leaves continue performing, sometimes taking on burgundy tints as temperatures change. Gardens benefit from these consistent structural elements that maintain interest through seasonal transitions.
16. Philodendron
Moving houseplants outdoors for summer creates opportunities to enjoy philodendron’s perfect heart shapes in garden settings. The deep green, tropical leaves bring exotic flair to shaded patios and porches where direct sun won’t damage their lush foliage.
Vining varieties can be trained up summer trellises or allowed to cascade from elevated planters. The heart-shaped leaves grow larger and more vibrant with outdoor exposure, often doubling in size compared to their indoor counterparts given the right conditions.
The name philodendron comes from Greek words meaning “love tree” – fitting for a plant with such romantic leaf shapes. Watching new leaves unfurl throughout summer months provides ongoing garden interest, as each heart emerges tightly rolled before expanding to its full, glossy potential.
17. Violet
Summer-blooming violet varieties offer both heart-shaped leaves and flowers with heart-shaped faces. The symmetrical leaf form creates attractive ground patterns in shaded garden areas where summer heat might challenge other flowering plants.
The familiar five-petaled blooms feature central markings that create heart impressions, doubling the romantic symbolism. Their nodding habit gives violets a shy, demure quality that contrasts with more flamboyant summer bloomers, creating garden rhythm through personality differences.
Some gardeners consider violets too common for designed spaces, but their perfect heart shapes deserve reconsideration. In my woodland garden corner, native violets have naturalized beneath taller perennials, creating a living mulch of heart-shaped greenery that suppresses weeds while adding textural interest at ground level.