Here we bird lovers plant easy to grow Agastache. The hummers love the nectar and when they go to seed, it is fascinating to watch the Gold Finches land on the seed heads and pull out the seed one by one. Al

Those looks great! will look into those. Thanks

how about poppies? Nothing like bright orange happy blooms! :)

Bumble bees loved my Blue Boa agastache last year. I also grew a few different agastaches from seed but (sadly) the blooms didn't seem as large or as bright as the Blue Boa or other named cultivars I've seen. If anyone has been really happy with one grown from seed, I'd love to know.

Other things I've used are gaura lindheimeri (the short varieties, I think I have Crimson Butterflies) and dwarf Russian sage (perovskia atriplicifolia Little Spire). Autumn joy sedum is beautiful and very tough but also attracts hover flies so might not be good right next to a door.

Not a flower, but something that looks good with all of the above is Lamb's ear (stachys). It is very humid here but the variety Helen von Stein did wonderfully for me last year in both pots and the ground.

(I'm mostly a lurker but our house faces west so this topic is near to my heart :-) )

Portulaca, Moss rose, is great for afternoon sun. Flowers are small, but vivid(most photos don't do them justice) and profuse. It just keeps on blooming all season. Looks good in a hanging pot, too.

Here is a link that might be useful: images of portulaca

Thanks for all of your suggestions! My wife fell in love with the blue boa agastache so that one is definitely going to make an appearance this summer. I may have room to try all of these though, we shall see!