While many bedding plants are available in red, white and blue colors, you'll find it easier to find some of the more common annuals. This translates to impatiens for shady areas and petunias for sunny areas. Among the leading impatiens' series is "Accent," which comes in more than 30 colors. "Fantasy" petunia is a great miniature petunia series, while "PrimeTime" and "Storm" offer larger flowers. Be aware going in, though, that many bedding plants that are labeled "blue," end up being closer to shades of lavender and purple.
Don't be afraid to mix and match bedding plants either. Blue will be the most difficult color to find, but ageratum and salvia both have blue varieties. Don't forget about perennials like delphinium and bachelor button for true blue colors. Many other annuals commonly bloom in red or white. Some include: fibrous begonia, celosia, cosmos, dianthus, geranium, snapdragon, zinnia and carnation.
There are other plants and flowers out there for the Fourth of July. Would you believe "Fourth of July" rose? This is a newly hybridized climbing rose that won a 1999 All America Rose Selections Award. It is the first large-flowered climber to be honored in 23 years! It features striking 4 to 5-inch flowers that are red and white striped. "Fourth of July" is a cross between "Roller Coaster" and "Altissimo."
There's also a firecracker flower (Dicheslostemma ida-maia). This unusual woodland plant blooms clusters of pendulous, tubular flowers. What's unique here is the flowers resemble firecrackers. They are scarlet with green tips. Plants bloom from May through August, and grow 3 feet.
Finally, here are a few garden tips, courtesy of Robin Chotinoff's book, "People With Dirty Hands." When buying bedding plants, she recommends that you never buy one plant of each color. Instead, buy lots of white since white blends with anything. When starting seeds indoors, consider utilizing an ironing board to place the pots. You can adjust the height, it's just the right width and, best of all, you won't have to iron for several weeks!
Cool flowers also grow adjacent railroad tracks, Chotzinoff says, and no one will care if you dig them up. It is also cheaper to buy one gorgeous tropical houseplant and slowly kill it over the course of a couple years than to buy one bunch of cut flowers weekly. You can never own too many pairs of sharp clippers. Some of the best can be found at garage sales. You may have to sharpen them yourself, but it's worth it.
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