One of the nicest parts of working in your garden in the spring is planning and planting flowering annuals. They add color and beauty to any garden.

Annuals are bright and cheery additions to any landscape garden and can be used in many situations. The splash of bright color makes an excellent focal point. When annuals are planted in containers, either stationary or hanging from trees or eaves they add color to accentuate the surrounding area.

The colors and textures of annuals available seem limitless. There is a flowering annual to fit any situation. Annuals are continually breeded for disease resistance, size, color, and flower shape. Each year we stock many new and exciting varieties at the nursery. Click on a category below to view descriptive listings with photos of annuals that perform well in the south.

Annual For Sun I Annuals For Shade I Annuals For Fall-Winter

Planting Annuals In Beds

Annuals are easy to grow, however, proper bed preparation and proper timing is essential to grow healthy plants that perform well throughout the season.

CAUTION: Spring annuals such as begonias, impatiens, petunias, and salvia should not planted outdoors until the weather forecasters say no more frost! You can begin planting pansies for fall and winter color around late September at the earliest.

Plant annual beds in focal point areas such as around the mailbox, near entry ways, or on the edges or interior of beds or islands. Annuals can also be used as underplantings for trees. Plant a bed of annuals under trees such as crape mytles, keeping in mind to use a flower or foliage color that will compliment the blooms or foliage of the tree. For instance, the blooms of purple flowering crape myrtle will contrast wonderfully with a bed of pink petunias or begonias planted beneath.

One of our favorite things to do is mix several varieties of annual plants in the same bed. When mixing annuals in the same bed use taller growing varieties such as sun coleus or purple fountain grass in the back or center of the bed, and lower growing ones such as Wave petunias up front or outside the taller ones. If you really want to go wild do the cottage garden style and pick 10 or fifteen different varieties that you really like mixing them all together in a bed or pot. See Annual Flowerbed Combination Ideas or Container Garden Designs.

Planting Annuals In Pots

Planting annuals in containers is a great way to add color to your garden, curb appeal to your home and enjoyment to your life. It's a versatile way to enhance your personal space and have fun doing it. You can take a bare corner on a deck or patio that’s otherwise a very drab-looking area, stick a group of three to five containers of various shapes and sizes with an assortment of plantings and you’ve transformed it into something that’s fun to look at and enjoy. Annuals in matching pots are very useful to accentuate and draw attention to entryways. Around swimming pools or outdoor living areas annual beds and container plantings make time spent there more intersting and relxing.

If you've never planted annuals in containers before use our diagram for planting in containers as a basic guidline.

For some great ideas to help get you started go to Container Garden Designs.

In Summary

Gardening with annuals gives you endless possibilities for beautifying your home and property. You are only limited by your imagination!