Flower Gardens - The Best Annuals to Grow

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By Doris M

Marvel at these garden annuals that will make your garden come alive with color, scent and foliage. When choosing your plants, aim for those all-summer-long bloomers.

• Cleome Senorita Rosalita:  This new Cleome variety is amazing. Plant in full to part sun. No sticky stems, no thorny stems and no foul odor. Shorter than the other Cleome varieties, the Senorita flowers all summer long with soft lavender blooms. Does not require deadheading and easily doubles in width size. Grows to 12" tall.
• Nelia Argyranthemum: With daisy-like yellow flowers, the Nelia prefers a part sun to sun location.  This annual eventually grows to a shrub like appearance. Having a slight fragrance, butterflies and bees love this annual plant. Grows to 24" tall.
• Black Knight Pincushion Flower: What a discovery! With deep burgundy almost black flowers, this annual adds a real punch to any flowerbed garden. Having sturdy stems, the flower gives the appearance of dozens of straight pins! Attractive gray-green fern like foliage. Enjoys a part-sun location. Grows to 12" to 14" tall.
• Felicia Daisy: This sun-loving edging annual plant produces tiny lavender blue flowers with bright yellow centers. Interesting mini shrub like appearance. Grows to 8" tall.
• Magilla Purple Perilla: Striking coleus-like purple foliage. Great for shade container planting. Pinching this garden annual will have the plant becoming fuller, bushier. Great contrast annual.
• Colorblaze Coleus: Having lime green leaves with raspberry color veins makes this foliage annual a great contrast plant. Can tolerate full sun, but prefers a part shade, even shade location. Grows to 12" to 14" tall.
• Gartenmeister Fuchsia: This annual fuchsia provides gorgeous long, thin, red flowers with burgundy leaves all summer long. Can be planted in sun or shade. Great container plant, but because of its upright growth habit, it can be planted in a flowerbed as well.
• Euphorbia Diamond Frost:  Blooms continuously in mounds of airy  tiny white blooms. Although it blooms better in full sun, it does tolerate part shade. No deadheading required. A great filler and spiller for container planting.
• Sweet Potato Vines: Showy deep burgundy leaves, such as the 'Blackie', or the red leaves of the Sweet Caroline  and then there is the lime colored leaves of the Illusion Emerald Lace. All have a vigorous trailing habit making them appropriate for container planting. For sun or part sun.
• Ageratum Blue Horizon: An old favorite garden annual. A taller ageratum variety with true blue floss flowers. Great as an edging plant. Good for sun or part shade. Grows to 12" tall.
• Bonfire Begonia: A new begonia for sun locations. Although it can survive in shade or part shade, it fairs better in full sun. Amazing arched stems with red/orange blooms. This plant is self-cleaning. Great for container/hanging basket planting.
• Dusty Miller: An old-time peacemaker in the garden. Because of its silver foliage coloring, it is used to make color transitions in the flowerbed garden. Also deer and rabbit do not like this annual. Grows to 12" to 14" tall. Makes a good edging plant.
• Salvia Black and Blue: All annual Salvia varieties are worth planting. A tall growing Salvia, the Black and Blue rises up as a very good background annual. Can grow to 36" tall. The dark purple/blue tubular blooms seem to last forever and deadheading the spent blooms keeps them coming until the first hard frost.
• Salvia Lady In Red: Another annual Salvia with red tubular blooms on taller sturdy stems. Very attractive to hummingbirds. They bloom throughout the summer months.
• Salvia Mystic Spires: An annual Salvia that rivals any medium to tall annual. Beautiful deep purple spike blooms on tall sturdy stems. Grows to 28" to 36" tall and blooms last until a hard frost.
• Impatiens: Another old-time favorite for shade gardens. All colors (white, pink, red) look great planted in mass. Or try planting in containers and placing in hard to grow areas of the garden, like under a tree.
• Begonia Vodka: A Begonia (red, pink, white) with burgundy leaves. Can be planted in shade or sun. Makes a good edging plant.
• There you have it. Suggestions for the best annuals to grow for sun, part-sun, shade and container planting. The above mentioned garden annuals are favorites for many gardeners. All are very easy to grow and are low maintenance.
  
  
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