Garden Planning: Annuals

Cosmos!

Garden centers are booming right now. All the beautiful blooms are laid out like a giant buffet. Geraniums galore, impatiens, and petunias. (Our only advice, don’t go crazy! If you go to a garden center, arm yourself with a list of what you need and try to stick to it.) Annuals are great to give your garden that kick of color carrying your garden through the sad lull of blooms.

What are Annuals?

An annual is a plant that grows from seed, blooms, and dies in one season, as opposed to a perennial, whose top dies down each fall, although the roots remain alive over the winter.

Our favorite annuals to grow from seed are:

Nicotiana - Also known as flowering tobacco comes in many shades, but we love the white for its placement in our Moon Garden. They reach a height of three feet and have beautiful flowers that perfume the air at night. The flowers close up during the day, but in the shade will remain open. Something to note, although it’s an annual, it will return each year with a vengeance.

Cosmos - If planted in the spring, Cosmos will reach heights of four feet by August. They are SO easy to grow and come in all shades. The daisy-like flowers sit atop tall slender stems and attract bees, butterflies, and birds to your garden.

Cleome - Another tall plant that is easy to grow. The flowers look like mini fireworks going off and the leaves have a slight resemblance to marijuana FYI - you might raise some eyebrows in the neighborhood. Spider flowers do not emit a noticeable fragrance, yet hummingbirds and butterflies are drawn to these flowers all summer long.

Tip to keep your annuals looking fresh: Pinch or pinch your annuals to remove any spent blooms regularly and they will look fuller and denser for longer throughout the spring and summer.

Happy Gardening!