Zinnias and dwarf sun flowers would be nice annuals, but I highly recommend perennial Gaillardias. Mine are in full bloom right now. They will bloom all summer. I started these from seeds. Gaillardia "Goblin" is my favorite, but Burgundy is great too. There is also an annual called "Sundance" I think that would be perfect.

There is also an annual called "Diamond Frost" Euphorbia. It blooms white like baby's breath. It blooms more and longer than anything I've ever grown. You can take cuttings and root them in water. I over-wintered mine as a houseplant and rooted cuttings of it. It bloomed even in the water while rooting. You will love it.

Another perennial that blooms the first year and will get second and sometimes third blooms in one year is May Night Salvia. As long as you cut the spent flowers off. Usually the first that grows is the middle spire...if you cut that back, the two on the sides will bloom. Great purple color that doesn't have to be divided too often.

One consideration might be Blanket Flowers. But I would buy them as perennials from your local nursery rather than winter sowing. In my opinion most plants you sow now won't be vigorous bloomers this year as opposed to purchasing a relatively established perennial.

Kate

Melampodium is a wonderful little annual. Love in a mist is a heavy reseeder so you need to deadhead some, but the flowers are beautiful & even the seedpods. Larkspur bloom off & on. Also amaranth, cosmos, rudbeckia.

That Diamond Frost Euphorbia looks like Baby's breath. I received Baby's breath as a gift when I bought seeds. I'm not sure if I should direct sow those seeds now since our last average frost is mid May.

I looked at some information about the Diamond Frost and it looks like it's not for Full Sun. I'll check some local stores here and hopefully, they have this in seeds.

About the gaillardias, I will check my packages again. I remember I received some seeds.

About the May Night Salvia, it's beautiful. The picture I saw was combined with a white flowering plant.

katefisher, I have blanket flower seeds. I winter sowed it. I have to check my list if it sprouted.

The Melampodium looks like coreopsis and they're beautiful too. What color usually nicely compliments a yellow flowering plant?

Thanks everyone! :)

Blanket flower and Gaillardia are the same. The name should be on the seed pack. We all started sometime. The enthusiasm is great. Hope all goes well.

Thanks boday! :)

I kept on looking back at Diamond Frost Euphorbia. It's so beautiful. Hopefully, burpee sells them. I'll check some local stores this week.

Since you mentioned they look like baby's breath, are baby's breath perennial or annual? The one I received didn't have enough info. Can I direct sow those baby's breath now in zone 5a?

Baby's breath can be annual or perennial and comes in shades of white to light pink. Malampodium looks like it could be quite invasive. If you have spots where it can re-seed freely and not be bothersome, it might be OK. I second the recommendation of something in the cosmos family, many colors and types to choose from. Sometimes I've planted solid white between and around perennials. Sprinkling some alyssum seed around the edge of a border can be striking...and smells good, too. It will bloom all summer and re-seed somewhat, but it's easy to pull if you don't want it the next year.

I saw a picture of cosmos from someone but I didn't see lot of flowers. Are they really like that? It's my first time to own cosmos seeds so I can't tell.

I have different types of cosmos. I have bright light mix, sensation radiance, cosmic orange, white and light purple. The white and light purple were just given to me by a friend. Can I direct sow these cosmos now in zone 5a?

Thanks for the alyssum idea! :)

You mentioned that you were looking for annuals that were approx. 12" in height. Most cosmos will be in the 18" - 3' range. One that no one has mentioned yet, and is a blooming machine all the way to the first frost is marigolds. The French marigolds are 10 - 12" in height, and come in yellow, gold, orange, red, or a mix. The African marigolds are quite a bit taller.
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Another short annual that can be grown from seed are gazanias. They come in all sorts of colors, and will also bloom until the first frost. They come in whites, yellows, orange, reddish/bronze, and pinks.

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Here is a gazania mix with petunia 'Prism Sunshine'

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Bonnie

I got this perennial from Bluestone Perennials last year called ACHILLEA Angels Breath. It is awesome. I have rooted cuttings of it in water and now I have tons of it. I'm using it as a filler between my coneflowers. It looks nice in the summer. It's an easy to multiply perennial too that is definitely a sure thing for returning each year.

I forgot to mention the African Daisy (Osteospermum) called "Lemon Symphony. It's a nice annual. There are other varieties of African Daisy that would be awesome, including some with very interesting spooned petals. These are great annuals.

highalttransplant, they are all gorgeous! I'm drooling to head out to Home Depot but they're close now. :)

I will definitely go there tomorrow and look for them. They are really beautiful especially the second picture!!!

There are a lot of perennials that DO bloom the first year and flower profusely. Balloon flowers, phlox, and shasta daisies are a few of my favorites. I think balloon flowers bush out rather than grow high so they could be a good choice for you.

My favorite inexpensive short annuals are snap dragons, begonias, geraniums, and celosia. You could start some of them from seed, but you'd have to start them during the winter or fall for the next season...they are just so darn cheap though I would just buy them small from a nursery. Honestly, don't tell anyone, LOL*, but I go to Walmart every year and spend $15-$20 and knock myself out with the ones that are $1 or two for $2. They look small, but you can believe me they get big fast and they will give you a lot of color without spending very much money.

My favorite annuals include larkspur, nigella, wallflowers (cheiranthus), zinnias, cornflowers, purple basil and perilla, snapdragons, chinese forget-me-not (cynoglossum) and cosmos.

For another idea about lots of bloom fast, consider biennials such as forget-me-not, digitalis and lychnis coronaria. All are easy to start from seed, readily available and bloom like crazy in their second year. In my garden, all reseed well.

Thanks again.

Can we direct sow the following now in zone 5a?
cosmos
purple ruffle basil
blanket flower
zinnia envy

We are 18 days away from the average frost date.

I bought 3 new Burpee seed packets and another 2 that I already have today at Home Depot. They were half priced. I would like to hear your comments about these annuals. Oh, I didn't find the annuals you mentioned above.

1. Marigold Safari Primrose
2. Rudbeckia Double Gold
3. Larkspur Giant Imperial Mix
4. Four O' Clocks Limelight(already have)
5. Cosmos Bright Lights Mix(already have)

Thanks.

V1rtu0s1ty, the Marigold 'Safari Primrose' is the one that I posted in the first picture in my previous post. I've grown the Cosmos 'Bright Lights' before, and mine was close to 3 feet tall. Just an FYI, Cosmos, need poor, dry soil to bloom their best. If you give them heavily ammended soil, and lots of water, you will get all foliage and no blooms.

As far as direct sowing those you listed now, you'd probably be okay, but you should be prepared to cover the sprouts if a late frost is predicted, because only the Blanket flower (Gaillardia) is frost tolerant.

Bonnie

Awesome info highalttransplant!!! :)

but you should be prepared to cover the sprouts if a late frost is predicted
What material should I use to cover them? I've never done this before.

The larkspur you could direct sow, also...the cosmos would probably be fine, too. I usually direct sow 1/2 of the packet a couple of weeks before frost on the more cold hardy annuals and then do the other half of the same packet the week of Mother's Day.

What kind of containers did you use for wintersowing? I use a lot of 2L bottles, and save the top half after I plant out the sprouts, and use those for cloches if a late frost is predicted. Or, if it's a large area you are trying to cover, you can buy a floating row cover for $10 - $12, at most garden centers.

Thanks highalttransplant. I sowed cosmos a week after our last frost instead.

So here is an update. The cosmos were very easy to grow. They're 2 or 3 inch tall now. I direct sowed them around 3rd week of May.

I thought I had a failure on safari primrose. After 20+ days of waiting, they did show up. I think I have 20 or 21 safari primrose seedlings and are about 10 inch apart. They're 2" tall now.

The Rudbeckia Double Gold didn't do well via direct sowing. It didn't show up. The seeds I put in pot about 10 days ago have germinated.

I also felt I failed on four o clocks limelight. It took more than 20 days also before they germinated. They're 2 or 3 inch tall now. The color is not as bright as sweet potato vine. Maybe because it's still young.

Also, just want to share about basil. The cotyledon on purple ruffles basil is green. Glad I didn't wack out the ones I saw in my garden bed. The first true leaves came out dark purple. They are very easy to identify since the shape of the cotyledon is unique.

Now, I'm not sure how my front bed is going to look like. I'm excited. Here are the plants/1 tree that are on this bed.

1. Purple Leaf Sandcherry tree
2. Canna with green leaves
3. Four O clocks limelight
4. Bachelor's button
5. bunny tail blue grass
6. Hydrangea Annabelle (pitimpinai)
7. Sedum Autumn Joy
8. Dianthus Firewitch
9. Safari Primrose

10. Penstemon Husker Red(stage_rat)
11. Agastache Korean
12. Cleome
13. Calendula
14. Not sure if it's gloriosa daisy or shasta daisy
15. larkspur(pitimpinai)
16. cosmos cosmic orange
17. red castor bean