So I assume we all love our perennials here (this being the Perennials forum after all, lol). But how do you guys feel about annuals?

*And by annuals I mean plants that are truly annuals and those that are tropical (etc) grown as annuals by those of us in cooler zones...*

You...

1) use them as much as perennials/rely heavily on them for extra color.

2) use hardly ever- you would prefer to plant something only once. If you do have annuals they are likely to be natural re-seeders...

If you do enjoy annuals, do you plant them amongst the perennials or plant them all in a special bed? Maybe all or most of them are confined to containers and baskets? Do you buy your plants or prefer to start them yourself?
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I have mixed feelings when it comes to annuals. Some years I get excited to try a whole bunch of different ones and get all artsy-fartsy with color combos. Then other years I ask myself why I spend so much $$ when I could get some super special and pricey perennial I've long lusted for instead.

For awhile there I got into starting my own annuals (indoors and WS'ing). I've gotten too busy for that lately, except for a few curiosities I can't buy locally. I'm hoping to start some variegated corn and direct sow a few other things this year ((if I don't procrastinate...again)).

I'm lucky in the fact that I work at a nursery and have a nice discount on purchases. I have a tray-full of annuals tucked away in one of our greenhouses that I will stuff in a few hanging baskets and pots. I don't plan to plant up all my pots with annuals this year though- many pots are designated for my hot pepper starts and basil!

I like having some in smaller containers so I can move them around the garden when an area lacks color or a raggedy looking plant needs to be hidden.

I overwinter a number of annuals too, things I can't live without/can't bear to throw out every year. Variegated Abutilon, Oxalis triangularis, Iochroma, a few favorite coleus, unique fuschias etc.

So how do my fellow perennial lovers feel about annuals?
CMK

He used to bring home extra flats from jobs, and I saw no reason to turn my nose up at freebies. Now I wait until there is a sale at Costco or HD. (Last week HD had 4" color on sale for $.50/each, so filling our small beds with red petunias was pretty inexpensive.) I usually invest in one flat's worth of dianthus every few years; they keep blooming, or reblooming, until I tire of them and pull them out. I like to plant a few six-packs of purple lobelia around the perimeter of a small patio. Occasionally I will purchase a 6-pack of coleus, or something different, just to have something new to look at for a while.

That is about it for annuals in my garden, unless you count the flats of gazania in the road strips. (So many perennials are sold as annual color, even here, where they truly are perennial) The gazania reseeds readily and I will never have to replace them, unless I want to grow something different in the location.

My favorite thing about annuals is that they self sow & naturalize but then many of my perennials self sow just as well. Some people do not like that, it just depends on the kind of garden you have.

Thinking off the top of my head the annuals I grow are:

Gallardia pulchella, Blackeyed Susans, Mountain Pinks, Standing Cypress, Lazy Daisy, Tahoka Daisy, Bladderpod, Plains coreopsis, Scarlet Sage, Helenium annum, Dyssodia.

Annuals mixed with perennials & grasses below are red Standing Cypress, Baileya multiradiata & Mountain Pinks.

The main perennial beds are almost entirely perennials. There is a separate large bed mostly used for annuals/subtropicals/temperennials, although there are permanent shrubs/small trees/perennials in that bed as well.

You can't try radically different things each year in a perennial planting unless you're willing to recycle constantly on a large scale. Having that option elsewhere makes for more exciting gardening.

If my anatomically correct planting works out I'll post photos later.

PS Beautiful pictures!!

Here is a pot combo I loved- all the more so because the Abutilon, Fuchsia, and Oxalis were overwintered, only new thing was the Lobelia!

-ginnier, LOL! I could see how that corn would lead to concern! There is a dwarf variegated one called 'Tiger Cub'...maybe you could sneak that in a container or something ;-> I LOVE SALVIA ARGENTIA! Mine does come up yearly, although on the whole it is a short lived plant. It is super easy to keep going via seed though...mine germinated in three days!

-GreatPlains1, (oops, guess your going by 'TexasRanger10' now...my bad), is that a dwarf form of R. hirta? If so, does the progeny come true? Mine always get so tall and floppy...I've been thinking I should replace them with dwarf versions.
CMK

Not sure but suspect its R. hirta, never really looked it up. One came up volunteer a while back, no idea where it came from since I never planted seeds, I didn't like them much, but I do like this one. Maybe its biennial because it doesn't bloom til year 2 then dies, they've all done that. They're bout 8" tall, not a lot of blooms/plant but the blooms are very large on short stems, sort of cartoonish looking. Happy flowers.

At this stage I'm strongly orientated to mixed perennial gardening, my ultimate focus being lots of changing flower colour from early spring to late fall. We need it here with our winters. Still our strong seasonality presumably makes the type of gardening possible.

In my experience, this type of perennial gardening is always "a work in progress". It's a juggling act even when the beds are established. Periodic renovations are required. To use Mila's term, there's lots I'm still "figuring out".

Particularly experiential, but also other types of learning obviously help.

I certainly use annuals if that's the only way to get flower colour; e.g. areas too small to rely on perennials alone: more shaded areas (to get colour after spring): when establishing mixed perennial beds: for remediation (if something goes wrong with a plant or area of a perennial bed).

One thing I've learned (with my type of perennial gardening), is not to use reseeders. I found that Cleome was a beautiful annual filler, but it lingers on (in an undisciplined way) into the following year.

The one use I always like for annuals, is in strategically located pots and planters around the property. We have a large deck and a relatively small garden. Potted annual (one of my spouse's fortes) are, for instance, very useful in breaking up the lines of the deck. I feel she is quite right in saying that they add too, rather than detract from, our perennial beds.

Great pictures/gardens TR an CMK.

Below: August 6, 2013:
(The pelargoniums also cover the back of the New England asters which aren't blooming yet. Our adult son still insists on a planter of marigolds).

I do plant lots of annuals in about 40 or so pots that I put on my decks. Love them for the color and constant flowers they provide. That's well worth it.

Another exploding seeder is Flame Acanthus. At least if you loose one after paying for it, you have backups coming up the next year so that's a plus as I'm dealing with an extensive garden area which would be cost prohibitive otherwise.

So another asset -- annuals are a real money saver along with adding season long consistent color when other plants are flagging or past bloom time.

What a lovely colour!

-SB, oh wow. That is awesome. I really like the backdrop of evergreens (arbs?) you use as a foil for your myriad of colorful perennials. I've been out in my garden all day and have been trying to figure out what sun plants I want to put in this one area (that I ripped a juniper from- also a rose soon). Your pic turned the light-bulb on above my head. Phlox! I definitely need another tall phlox in that area. I've long regretted not picking up a smoky purple 'Natural Feelings' phlox at a local sale some years ago. Think I will try and hunt one down and plant it next to my 'Mardi Gras' Helenium and dwarf zebra grass! Many thanks for the inspiration ;-)
CMK

Below a garden I planted and have maintained for over 10 years. (The excellent hardscaping is, of course, not my work).

Medium-sized and small dahlias, pelargoniums and tuberous begonias are my favourite annual fillers.

Picture (Aug 31, 2013).

I'm not very knowledgeable about trees, but we've really looked after that hedge. Yearly attention from the arborist (trimming and fertilizing), and consistent watering, have really paid off.

When a person is thrown into the category of being a troll or troublemaker by small group of old timers because they find their posts objectionable & calls on other posters to turn the person in to the Webmaster it becomes difficult for the targeted person to join in discussions.

I am only interested in discussing plants so please, drop this attempt to open old problems.

I know my garden is different than most posters here but still, I do think I have some worthwhile things to discuss & would like to continue to do so in peace, if thats OK with certain people.

The shrub below is sometimes called a Texas Ranger or barometer bush since it blooms whenever there is rain. Its one of my favorites, hence the name.

Adieu,
Avis

….I love Texas ranger bushes. They are not subtle… I like that and I like your posts. Even the un subtle ones.

TR10, that skullcap is beautiful. I've never had any luck. Is that texasranger shrub really a shrub, or is it a shrubby annual or perennial? I would grow that as an annual if it were one for sure!

It is interesting to see gardens in very different growing conditions from ones own.

I think it's easy to forget that other gardeners, in other regions, have different gardening options from our own.

Of course, one also sees widely different tastes and intents in different gardens.

It is easy to forget how different the look & overall feel of gardens can be in different regions. I have not traveled much & a lot of the gardens on this forum look very unusual or simply impossibly lush. I can't get my mind around the landscape where some of you live. I started thinking about the angle of the sun on the earth and how we must look like an overexposed photo to ya'll at times.

I noticed posting photos in a thread really emphasizes this, some of you guys are so green, shady & wet looking. We are getting in the upper 90's next week so considering the temps, length of growing seasons along with the amount of sun, it would stand to reason we are, in a way, living in different worlds when it comes to gardening.

The Texas Ranger is a shrub. There are 2 types-- Leucophyllum candidum (2-3ft) & Leucophyllum frutescens (4-5ft). Its also called Cenizo or Purple Sage & sometimes Texas Sage. Its gorgeous in or out of bloom. I'm on the edge of its hardiness zone & it needs good drainage.

Here is a photo of the red version of the Skullcap & uh, er, theres a couple annuals behind it, yellow of course because that is so common around here.

For me, the attraction of gardening is the sense of accomplishment I get from putting something in that will grow there for years. So much of my life involves things that have to be done over and over again, or tasks that involve moving pieces of paper around...it's nice to have a task that produces a long lasting tangible result occasionally. Accordingly, I like trees and tough, almost invasive perennials. Planting things that I'll have to plant again next year is discouraging to me. Also, I tend to obsess about something for a while, then lose interest...so if I planted annuals I'd plant a bunch one year, then lose interest and have nothing next year. If you plant annuals and are busy one year, you are often left with an empty mulched flower bed...those bug the heck out of me. They strike me as wasted space. I actually would prefer weeds. And I hate impatients.

Most of my annuals are grown from seed, but others, like the geraniums, I try to overwinter as cutting. I love marigolds, cosmos, and cornflowers.

Here's a cute little annual native Phacelia campanularia I shot today, they are coming up among some dainty Baby Blue Eyes. I've got a lot of purple this year with these, Tahoka Daisy's, Scutellaria wrightii & annual lupines.

I have a couple areas of mostly white with the Lazy Daisy's but the Gallardia pulchella will dominate soon. Just from that one pack of seed from Native American Seed last year & I have a low growing mass of white in a couple areas. It was a good choice.

Ps. I would love to see more of what you have going on the deck there. Aloe and succulent collection?
CMK

ken

Annual Tahoka Daisy with Yucca whipplei, Sedum & Cheddar Pink Dianthus. These daisy's get much taller here, in front they are only about 6 to 8" tall. Shows the difference soil can make. I like the short ones better so I'll probably do something different next year in the courtyard.

Behind is the single Blackfoot daisy I got to germinate, he's kind of lonely. So far, no sign of seedlings & I've been looking real close. I spread them all over this area last fall hoping they'd colonize.

I decided to let it fill in more than in the past, do less thinning. I'm even thinking of making a little yard sign that says 'Pocket Prairie'--- what do ya think?

Barely detectable behind the winecups is a Sphaeralcea ambigua. I never got one from the seeds from PoSW but a friend in NM sent some from her property and now I have 6 seedlings planted in various spots. Thats exciting for me! I've got various baby penstemons coming up all over the front too.

Those photos are from a couple years ago. Spring is late here too due to cold AND lack of rain. the Monarda punctuates are up but waiting for that shot of rain to breathe life into them. They are crying to me." Water, Water, Water, we are dying here and the hose is at our feet. You are so mean"..It is SO tempting but I need to keep my water for the house right now.

We are on an extreme water diet inside and outside the house. In Austin , they are allowed to water once every 2 weeks. We are on a cistern so rules don't apply to us.. We just run out and need to ship it in and that water is the hardest water I have ever run into. Here I go off topic again.

We are dying of thirst here too. I planted so many seeds last fall -natta--very few have come up, maybe I should put a hose to the spots. They'll come up eventually & I'll have no idea what they are by then because I will have long forgotten. I do have about a zillion flame flowers up so no matter what, I'll have a steady supply of pink til fall. They are as thick as grass out there in spots.

The friend in NM who is trying to establish a plot with natives is just as desperate for water.

Your silver sunflower is two times taller than mine was last year with three times more flowers. This year I've got a few up by the wall.

I like to try stuff I have never seen before (rohmeria hybrida or papaver tianschanicum for example), knowing the pay-off is gratifyingly rapid, easy and ephemeral.

Wild Heliotrope (aka Blue Phaecella or Scorpionweed). Its a spring blooming annual. This is not related to the typical garden heliotrope. Seed collecting has begun.

I see I'm going to have to do a serious late night google study of those plant names, they aren't familiar. Wow, do you have those memorized just off the top of your brainy head or what? I always have to doggedly look the spelling of the Latin name up which takes forever & am the worst offender for using common names-- but I like the common names because they often provide local folklore or medical info on the plants & thats interesting.

I've mostly studied the western natives so those are more familiar but still, it would take me some time to fire them off like that.

I like many of the native SW plants in the legume family. I want to try some more Locoweed, seed is available from PoSW. The ones I tried a couple years ago got killed with kindness. The plants my friend has coming up aren't commercially available & I'm always interested in those.

I know what you mean about the Annuals forum, I go, I check, I leave. Step 59 in how to breed zinnias & the typical common nursery fare. Unfortunately the Natives and Meadows & Prairie forums are not very active, to put it mildly. I think it would be nice to set up a seed trading network of "unavailable in the trades native seed" on GW but its just dog-dead over there, a post can sit in limbo for weeks or months.

ps
Rockeries & alpines do not fare well here as a rule. Even chicks n' hens need to be grown in shade. The summer sun just fries that stuff as a rule. I'd love to be able to grow them but it would amount to cruelty to plants. Colorado is the closest place for successfully growing them.

Wantonamara e.mail racing towards you - a fantastic offer I absolutely could not miss. Will, of course, keep an eye out for interesting seed for you. It is hard to imagine many parallels between East Anglia and Texas (although Texas is huge and varied.......but while the fens are classed as wetlands, climatically, we are semi-arid with wide skies, flat windy landscapes, little tree cover.... tough natives and simple wildflowers sit comfortably in the isolated fenland peat cuttings,alder carr and miles of marsh, meres, reedbeds. Hybrid roses, dahlias, hydrangeas have np place at all in the Yare valley.....but graceful willowherbs, sedges and eupatoriums are entirely at home.

Snakeweed, Shindagger, Horsecrippler, Dogweed, Cowblinder, Rattlesnake Master, Flameflower, Scullcap, Starvation Cactus, Antelope Horns, Mosquito Grass (or Skeeter Grass if you're a real hick), Barometer Bush, Rabbitbush, Winterfat, Mormon Tea, Indian Blanket, Mexican Hats, Scrambled Eggs, Texas Yellow Star, Locoweed, Bitterweed, Scorpion Flower, Devil's Claw, Navajo Tea, Prince's Plume, Leadplant, Indian Tobacco, Desert Spoon, Beargrass, Soap Tree Yucca, Buckwheat, Firewheel, Deergrass. Beargrass and of course Sitting Bull Falls Cardinal Flower.

Its not really poetry but its a bit of brief story telling.

I'm not in the horticulture or nursery business so unless I need to specify or pin a species down for some reason I use the vernacular, some people frown on this. I do look them up when necessary.

Semi-arid, wide skies & flat windy landscapes sounds like it would be perfect for many of the natives around here. What kind of soil, I'm interpreting that you are saying there is a lot of natural peat?

BTW, wantanamara is in a primo-de-la-primo spot for native plants-- the Texas Hill Country-- the place is famous for their natives. They've got the Lady Bird Johnson Native Plant Demonstration Gardens and everything. Lady Bird did more for stirring up interest in natives than anyone else I know of. Our highway wildflower plantings, among other things, show her influence.

Each year I collect gobs of seeds stored in several ziploc bulk sized baggies with various SW & prairie natives to keep my populations in check since I have more limited space than some lucky people I could mention. If I lived on an acreage, I'd just let them fall. I'd be glad to to send them later in the year for fall sowing, I try to pass them along to anyone really interested in naturalizing natives. Most are easy, low growing & long blooming making them good for naturalizing with reliable color.

We have Love in the Mist, Virgin's Bower, Cuckoo Pint, Ladies Smocks and other assorted sentimental stuff. Thankfully, we also have Stinking Gladwyn and Piss the Beds.

camp-- I love those names & have never heard of them. We ought to make a list.

Here's one: bavinca vine. I like this name since I really do hate ba-vinca major or ba-vinca minor, both of which have to be the most unoriginal & boringest ground covers next to monkey grass except usually you see both together along with privet which I call the unholy three. People plant this loathsome amalgamation because it conveniently fills the requirement intrinsic to the circumstance of requiring conventional "correct landscaping principles" for the lackadaisical.

Just gives them a chance to get "edumacated". heh

I like Shame boy and Dog weed. I think I will start a thread on this

The love-in-a-mist plants are about to bloom. I can't wait, even though we live in a windy spot and the flowers don't last too long.