well,mostly….. but not really.

Annuals are a plant form that starts as a seed, grows roots and leaves, then flowers and fruits and dies , all in one year. many of the plants we grow here as ‘annuals’ are actually herbaceous perennials in the warmer parts of the world. We grow them through one season then usually compost them, BUT  with the knowledge  they are indeed non-hardy perennials we are  able to overwinter choice plants indoors and save $$.

A few that fall under this annual yet perennial heading that may be worth saving are  are petunias, coleus, and persian shield.

But let’s start with plants that are easy to grow from seed, fabtabulous bloomers, and  then headed for the compost bin.

Cosmos and zinnias make huge impacts in the late season garden Both are available in many heights and colors, both can be started from seed by even the most inexperienced grower, both flower profusely  and do so until frost if deadheaded routinely. Ths year I focused on many different cosmos and didn’t even grow any zinnias ( a decision I now regret)   . They cosmos though, are  getting going after some nice rain and are  just the perk the garden needed now.

Verbena bonariensis is a very tall see through plant with strong  stems and a profusion of small purple flowers .It works well when let to seed in between other plants , which it will relaibly do every year once you have planted it for the first time. Butterflies adore it,. I want to add that for some people this plant can reseed quite vigorously and down south it is actually escaping cultivation , but here is easy to thin and control. ( photo :Annies Annuals)

petunias often get looked down upon by experienced gardeners, but I say what’s not to like?

They bloom like crazy,

if they get leggy or even if you forget to water them , you can give them a haircut and they will spring back to life

very few pests bother them, here the rabbits leave them alone and only occaisionly I get tobacco worm caterpillars I need to pick off

if you don’t like the commercialized ones, there are many you can grow from seed. I have talked about petunia exserta here before. It is a lovely red that is hummingbird pollinated and again, super easy to start from seed

This year I have added some from the Sparkler seed mx and they are going like gangbusters

and every year I have many self sown pink ones that fill containers for me everywhere. They will tolerate quite a bit of cold and persist very very late into October.

Amaranth is another plant I start from seed and there are so many I try new ones every year.

This year I am growing tri-colored amaranth both in the ground and in containers

coral amaranth

 

and I also tried one called ‘Deadlocks” which is doing  horribly and I don’t know why.All the plants are very small and they look more like goofy  drumsticks. I am hoping they get going soon

Now onto ones you may want to  winter over.

For foliage you can’t beat coleus, and the varieties available  to us now are outstanding. After the season you can take cuttings to root in soil or water and overwinter , or   hack them back and grow them on indoors. I had one pruned into a tree form for years but lost it this winter .

Persian Shield or stobilanthes dyerianus is beautiful but can be pricey , so ,again, overwintering a cutting or two can save you lots. ( it is a very easy to grow houseplant as well)

Plectranthus ‘Mona Lavender’ is a garden and  houseplant that blooms in the fall and winter and really comes into it’s own as days get shorter. It has the added bonus of flowering in shade ( photo from pinterest)

caladium bicolor is a bulb often grown as an annual . Tthe emerging plant ,although it loves full sun, will perform very well as a foliage filler in almost full shade. It is planted in this container with nasturtiums and another bulb , eucomis. I bring the pot in and let it either go dormant or sometimes keep it leafed out depending on window space

Hypoestes phyllostachya is another lovely shade foliage plant that delivers a punch of color all through the growing season. There are many color variations out there, and this guy also will prform well as a houseplant

An interesting plant( although be aware the seeds are very poisionous) is castorbean  or ricinus communis . Where it is hardy it is a massive perennial shrub but here it is grown as an annual.
Super easy to start from seed, this dangerous baby will shoot to 9 feet with tropical plamate leaves and colored stems  . There are many purple and dark  leaved varieties available  and the fuzzy fruits are really cool too. It makes a very useul filler in the garden and will certainly elicit some response to both folaige and fruit, as well as the  story of how it is where the nuerotoxin ricin comes from

I am growing three different ones ths year , none are flowering yet so the second photo is from Annies Annuals and the cltvr is ‘New Zealand Purple’ Talk about drama!

i have read that it takes 3-4 seeds to kill a rabbit I just can’t figure out how to make them eat them lol

slavia ‘Wendy’s Wish’ is a non stop bloomer that the hummingbirds love and has quite the presence in the garden right through to frost. I have overwintered this successfully  inside as well

I think these days many gardeners dimiss  the use of annuals as beginner stuff and look past them to perennials and shrubs, but  we can add loads of interest to our garden by adding in a few non-hardy plants . You may be able to find some interesting choices at a nursery near you, or you can cheaply order seed from Plantword, Chilterns, ebay and amazon.com  to name just a few

For plants , a  source I ALWAYS reccomend is Annies Annuals who has very interesting choices and does a superb job at shipping. Their catalogue is fun to look at and always gets lots of post-it-notes added here during the winter.