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Annuals

Annual flowers are wonderful. Perennials are great, too, but most have a relatively short performance. Annuals are born to flower: many start early and keep on blooming all summer. I like starting annuals by seed in 6-packs, even when it's warm enough that I could plant them directly in the ground. Flowers can easily get lost or misidentified as weeds when planted directly in the soil, especially things I haven't tried before, or if I just want a few. Last year, for example, I started some Bells of Ireland by seed, and they were great cut flowers, but I don't have a clue what the seedlings look like and they are slow to germinate.

I love zinnias. They come in such a profusion of colors, and range in size from diminutive to giant. I love the lime-green ones such as Envy and Benary's Giant Lime because they look so great mixed in with other flowers - in a vase, or in a flowerbed. Zinnias come as singles, such as the Profusion series, which are short (12"), and doubles such as Sunbow (24-30") and Oklahoma (30-40"). Now, if someone would develop zinnias with as many fragrances as there are colors, my bumblebee alter ego would be in heaven. And the more you cut these flowers, the more they branch and re-bloom.

Marigolds, like zinnias, are considered old fashioned flowers, and some sophisticates turn up their noses at them. Not me. I love their special aroma (which is said by some to repel certain pests) and their cheery faces. They range in size from 8"-36" tall. Plant the tall ones deep, covering the lower part of their stems so they will develop bigger, stronger roots. Marigolds take hot, dry weather without complaint, and don't need rich soil. From seed to flower is about 2 months, so buy 6-packs if you haven't started some indoors.

Annual blooming vines are wonderful, too. Over the entry arch to our garden we always grow scarlet runner beans, and usually purple hyacinth beans. Both are very fast to reach the sky - perhaps they were the inspiration for the story of Jack and the Beanstalk - and produce bright flowers and edible beans. Plant them now, and by mid-summer you'll be amazed at their beauty. I plant the beans about 6 inches apart. Plant them near a climbing rose and they'll climb the climber.

Nasturtiums are vines that don't climb. They sprawl. Plant in full sun, perhaps in a bed of daffodils. The daffies need sunshine to recharge their bulbs until the foliage dies away, and the "nasties" will fill in and hide the dying foliage. But don't fertilize your daffodils now if you have nasturtiums growing there, as nasties won't flower much if you give them fertilizer. They like lean soil.

I grow some of my favorite annuals not for their flowers, but for their leaves. These beauties are always in bloom - which is to say, their leaves are a treat to look at. I love their bright colors and shiny surfaces. Here are some good ones:

Perilla (P.frutescens): This is a terrific purple-leafed plant that self-sows exuberantly. Pinch off the flowers (which are not at all showy) if you don't want it to spread next year. Eighteen inches tall. The Magellanica cultivar is taller, and has foliage in shades of hot pink, deep plum and vibrant green.

Persian Shield (Strobilanthes dyerianus): This plant just shimmers with silver overtones on dark purple and pink leaves. It loves hot weather, and gets big: one plant can spread over a 3-foot circle and stand 3-4 feet tall.

Sun-loving Coleus: Long used as a colorful foliage plant for shady nooks, in the 1990's breeders developed new strains that do well in full sun. Colors range from deep crimson to brilliant chartreuse and golden sunset orange. Some plants have three or more colors on a single leaf. They like rich, moist soil and need to be two feet apart if planted in the ground.

Licorice Plant (Helichrysum petiolare): I buy some of this every summer because I love the silvery leaves, because it mixes so well with bright colored flowers in planters, and because it takes abuse. It rarely complains if I let it dry out in a pot. It flows over the edge of pots and weaves it way through other plants. It's also an exceptional in flower arrangements. There are also chartreuse and variegated lemon-lime varieties.

So even though annuals are disposable plants - they die when frost comes - I have to have them. I grow them in the vegetable garden, and in pots to fill in drab corners of the flower garden after perennials have finished blooming. Most are great cut flowers - and the bumblebees love them.

Henry Homeyer is the VT/NH associate editor of People, Places and Plants magazine. His website is www.gardening-guy.com. He may be contacted at gardening.guy@valley.net, or P.O. Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746.