01 Apr Annuals in the Landscape

Annuals are the perfect accessory to any landscape. They provide color all summer long and can compliment your  landscape in many different ways.

Where can I plant annuals?

You can add color with annuals in your garden beds, hanging baskets, window boxes or containers on your deck, porch or patio. Your garden is for your own personal pleasure. Make your garden work for your lifestyle. Always begin with a plan.

What do you want from your annual garden?

Where can you plant? Is the area sunny, shady, mixed? Do you prefer flowers that require little or no deadheading? Or maybe you don’t have room to plant and just want gorgeous container gardens.

Decide what you want out of your annual garden. Do you want flowers to cut and enjoy indoors? Do you want lots of color? What colors do you want? Monochromatic?

How long will  annuals bloom?

Annuals are the most consistent part of your summer landscape. As the rest of your landscape changes, throughout the summer, annuals provide consistent blooms until frost. When planting annuals take into consideration what you are planting them next to or in front of.  For example, annuals are great to fill in the gaps where spring bulbs have faded.  However, you don’t want to plant them in an area where they’ll block the beautiful blooms of perennials.  Equally important is to choose colors that compliment or provide a beautiful contrast to each other as well as the more permanent parts of your landscape.

Paying attention to the weather and knowing if a frost or freeze is expected becomes crucial to the success of your garden. It is helpful to know your plant hardiness zone . You don’t gain much by planting too early in the season. The air and ground have not warmed up sufficiently to give tender annuals the boost they need. And, do you really want to spend all that time,  and energy planting only to have the “fruits” of your labor freeze?  We suggest using Mother’s Day as a rule of thumb for planting summer blooming annuals.

There are many beautiful bloomers that tolerate the cooler nights of late April and early May.  Pansies, viola, snapdragons, sweet alyssum, bacopa and stock are all good early season options. Impatiens, vinca flower, sweet potato vine and petunias are a few of the many flowers that should not be planted until later in spring.

If you’re unsure of what or when to plant,  our gardening experts will be glad to help. Stop by or call today – 609-641-0648