Annual Flowers for Zones 5 & 6

Low-Growing Annuals

• Low-growing annuals are perfect if you have little space for a flower garden. For larger gardens, plant low-growing annuals along the border at the front of the garden, or use them to line a walkway, fill an attractive container or pretty up the mailbox. Baby snapdragon (Linaria maroccana) is native to Africa and grows less than 2 feet tall. Baby snapdragon produces tiny, irislike flowers in a rainbow of colors including purple, yellow and white, all on the same plant. African daisy (Dimorphotheca sinuata) grows up to a foot tall in zones 5 and 6, producing bright yellow to orange, daisylike flowers in midspring. Chinese houses (Collinsia heterophylla), native to California, grows 24 inches tall. Each flower may have a range of colors, from white to dark violet at the base, white to purple on the lower lip and red-tipped in the middle. The top of the flower is generally white. Chinese houses are especially easy to grow in all regions of the U.S.

Medium-Size Annuals

• Rocket larkspur (Delphinium ajacis) grows to about 3 feet tall and produces flower spikes of blue, purple, white and pink. Plant seeds either in spring or fall for midseason bloom in zones 5 and 6. Rocket larkspur is perfect for dried-flower arrangements. Bird's eye (Gilia tricolor) is a midseason bloomer. The flowers are white with pink or purple throats. Bird's eye grows to about 4 feet tall.

Tall Annuals

• Make a big, bright statement in the garden or liven up a boring fence with sunflowers. These old-fashioned favorites come in white, bronze, red and yellow. "Moulin Rouge" grows 4 to 7 feet tall and looks like a fireball in the garden with its bright-red petals and black center. "Valentine" grows 4 feet tall, and its 6-inch, sunny-yellow blooms and dark-chocolate centers are reminiscent of giant black-eyed Susans. Hollyhocks may seem like perennials, but only because the plant scatters seeds after flowering. A perennial favorite for its wide range of bloom colors, and prized for its use in fresh-flower arrangements, hollyhock (Alcea rosea) can grow up to 7 feet tall and is available in single- and double-flowered varieties.

Uses

• Annuals are available in a staggering array of sizes, colors and flower shapes, from dinner-plate dahlias to the tiny California bluebell (Phacelia campanularia). Because annuals last only one growing season, redesigning your flower garden every year is a snap. Annuals generally require less attention and care than perennials, and need no special protection from winter weather. Left to their own devices, many annuals will toss seeds on the ground to produce a new generation of plants the following year without any human intervention.