Annual Flowers For Year-Long Color Blast
I love annuals in my garden. They really are the icing on the cake when it comes to strong bloom and color pop. Annual flowering plants are perhaps the easiest plants you will ever grow, making them great for beginners too. Yet their ease of growth does not limit them from providing continuous color all season long. Whether your yard is small or large, or you are restricted to a small courtyard and a few pots, annuals are a good choice for you. Just sit back with your single cup coffee mug and enjoy the show.
But wait, we have some work to do first:
Most annuals are grown by sowing seed either in the early spring in a heated greenhouse or at home in a sunny window sill. Some annuals are planted directly in the soil during warmer weather as well. Some annuals are so adaptable that you only need to sow them once and they will self seed, producing plants every year. These are considered hardy annuals and need little guidance for regular planting. A great hardy annual in the Chicago area is the Fall Mum or Hardy Mum.
On the other hand are annual flowering plants that require early planting indoors and need to be transplanted into the ground when the weather permits. These plants are easily damaged by frost in the early spring but thrive during the warm months of summer.
If you choose to plant your annuals by seed, you will find a better selection by ordering them through a catalog or online. However, the more limited selections that are found at nurseries and garden centers may be more helpful because of their colorful packaging and that they are likely suitable for your local environment. If you do buy seeds from garden centers, always avoid packets that are faded, yellow, and have been exposed to sunlight as these seeds may not grow well.
The easiest way to plant your annuals is to purchase young plants in the spring that have been started in a greenhouse. Buying starters is a great alternative for people who don’t have the space or resources to start their own from seed. However, buying young plants is always more costly than purchasing seeds.
Starting annuals in the spring is always exciting for a gardener, and the rewards are incredible. I usually start my seeds in late February in a sunny spot on my back porch (called a 4-seasons room). This way I can fire up my coffee pod coffee maker each morning and look over my seedlings. I love the smell of brewing coffee pods and enjoy the sites of new seedlings breaking through fresh new soil. By the time April showers hit, my flowers are ready for pots on the porch, and eventually the landscape beds.
Start thinking about your annual flower choices for 2009 now as the time to by seeds is nearly ripe!