Annuals Squirrels Won't Eat

Moist Soil

• Provide regular irrigation for moisture-loving annuals. Mealy cup sage (Salvia farinacea) has pungent foliage that squirrels avoid. This 2- to 3-foot-tall annual grows best in sun to partial shade and prefers well-drained, moist soil. Mealy cup sage flowers from summer through fall with purple, silver and blue flowers. Plant 6 to 12 inches apart.

  Forget-me-nots (Myosotis sylvatica) produce tiny clusters of blue, pink and white spring flowers. These annuals grow from 6 to 18 inches tall and thrive in moist sites in sun to partial shade. Space these small annuals from 10 to 12 inches apart.

Shady Sites

• Many annuals thrive in full sun, but some grow better in partial or full shade. The campanula (Campanula isophylla) blooms from late summer through fall with fragrant, bell-shaped flowers in shades of blue, lavender and white flowers. These small annuals grow from 6 to 9 inches tall and prefer sites with morning sun and afternoon shade. They require regular irrigation and consistently moist soil.

  Squirrels tend to leave impatiens (Impatiens walleriana) alone. These shade-tolerant annuals bloom from late spring through autumn with pink, red, orange, white or purple blossoms. Impatiens thrive in partial to full shade and moist soil and come in a wide variety of cultivars, some of which produce fragrant flowers.

Sunny Sites

• Plant sun-loving annuals in sites that receive direct sunlight all day long. Scabiosa or pincushion flowers (Scabiosa atropurpurea) grow from 2 to 3 feet tall and need 8 to 15 inches of space to spread. Scabiosa produce fragrant double flowers from summer through heavy frost in shades ranging from purple to white. Plant scabiosas in full sun and fertile, well-drained, alkaline soil.

  The ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum) flowers through the summer with fuzzy, white, pink and blue flowers. This drought-tolerant annual grows from 6 to 24 inches tall and requires10 to 12 inches of space. All parts of the ageratum plant are toxic.

Dry Soil

• Though all annuals grow best with regular irrigation, some tolerate dry soils or even drought. Dusty miller or cineraria (Centaurea cineraria) is grown for its gray to silvery foliage. Plant this hardy annual in sun to partial shade and well-drained soil. Dusty miller grows to 24 inches tall and requires 12 to 14 inches of space.

  The Mexican or yellow prickly poppy (Argemone Mexicana) has spiny, waxy, squirrel-deterring foliage and produces bright yellow flowers from spring through early summer. All parts of this annual are toxic. Mexican prickly poppies grow from 8 to 18 inches tall and prefer full sun and dry, sandy soil.