That's a good plan. Enjoy the best of both worlds -- the reliable "sameness" of the shrubs and perennials and the user selectable "newness" of the front annuals bed. As a zinnia hobbyist, I "reinvent" my whole zinnia garden each year, and by some of my cross-pollinations, reinvent my zinnias as well. A few examples, starting with a "toothy petaled" specimen.

Another toothy specimen.

This tubular-petaled zinnia reminds me a bit of fireworks on a night sky.

This one reminds me of one of those deep sea anemones, that catch fish with their tentacles.

I've gotten some interesting results by crossing scabiosa flowered zinnias with large-flowered zinnias.

That's just a sampler of some of my "reinvented" zinnias. I agree that annuals are like making sand sculptures. I enjoy playing in the sand.

ZM

Thanks for the compliments. I'm sorry, but I don't trade zinnia seeds. For disease resistant shorter zinnias next year, you can pick from any of the Zinnia marylandica species, which includes the commercial Profusion, Zahara, and Pinwheel strains.

Incidentally, my zinnias are the taller Zinnia violacea (elegans) species, and they are not disease resistant. They need to be sprayed with a fungicide every week or two, starting about September or a little before.

ZM