Annual Plants & Flowers for Gardeners

Foliage Varieties

• While flowering plants produce showy blossoms, perennials grown for their foliage qualities can help enhance a landscape with their leafing characteristics. Foliage plants are suitable for adding green contrast to flowerbed gardens and foundation planters. Some varieties, such as fancy-leaved geraniums (Pelargonium), produce insignificant blossoms that don't hold a candle to their flashy, colored leaves. Fancy-leaved geraniums grow between 12 and 18 inches tall and prefer slightly dry soils in partial shade.

Flowering Plants

• Flowering annuals are one of the most common type of plants in residential yards and landscapes. Some produce blossoms for just a few weeks while others provide a continuous show of color from spring through fall. China aster (Callistephus chinensis) is a common flower in annual gardens. It grows between 6 and 36 inches tall and thrives in well-drained soils. China aster prefers sunny locations but can tolerate partial shade. This plant produces blue, red, yellow, white or pink blossoms from summer to early fall. Other types of flowering annuals include California poppy, cosmos, African daisies and dianthus.

Butterfly Garden Selections

• Some varieties of flowering annuals tend to draw hummingbirds and butterflies into the yard. Bachelor button (Centaurea macrocephlala) is an old-fashioned annual that blooms in shades of blue, pink, white and wine during the early summer. It grows to a mature height of around 25 inches and thrives in sunny to partially shaded areas with average soil. Begonia, candytuft, calendula and marigold also appeal to butterflies and hummingbirds.

Drought-Tolerant Annuals

• Few plants can light up a dry, bare patch of soil like annuals. Globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa) has a high drought tolerance. This plant blooms for a long stretch between late spring and early fall, displaying blossoms in shades of orange, lavender, pink and purple. It grows about 18 inches tall and thrives in sun to partial shade. Other drough- tolerant annual plants include blue daze, golden fleece, blanket flower and gazania.