We gardeners have a love affair with perennials. Yes, they are a marvelous addition to our flower beds, and many of them return for many years to give us wonderful color and texture to our gardens. The only drawback to perennials, other than maintaining them by dividing and resetting where needed, is that the season of their peak performance is generally short-lived. There are very few perennials that can offer season-long impact.
Annuals, on the other hand, offer great visual impact to our flowerbeds. Now, I know that most gardeners start out with annuals and gradually switch allegiance to perennial gardening. Why not enjoy both?
The use of annuals can act as a bridge between two different plant groupings, tying them in together. Annuals can be thus blended in the perennial border.
Another use that is visually stunning is to have a bed devoted to annuals only. By choosing flower and plant form, color and height, an all-annual bed can be visually stunning for most if not all of the summer season.
We do not have to break the budget by adding annuals to our gardens. Many of us can direct-sow or start annuals indoors. There are many garden centers that offer fair prices for their annual plants. By going forth with a game plan of what is needed for the yard, budget constraints, and perhaps even a rough sketch of what our plans, we can purchase plant or seed and not overspend.
If you purchase plants from a retailer, be sure to buy the healthiest, stockiest plants available. I like to look at the bottom of the cell packs as well, If there is a mass of white roots snarled around the bottom of the cell pack, I know the individual plants are becoming potbound and have been in the container for too long. I do not buy plants already in flower, since that can mean that the plant has been in its container for too long and that it might be stressed. Pop one of the seedlings from its pack and check the root system. Some roots wrapping around the soil mass is not necessarily bad if you can tease the roots apart with little problem. If it is fairly hard to tease the roots apart, the plant has been in its cell for too long. Also check leaf surfaces and all the crooks and crannies of the plants for unwanted guests in the form of insects and for signs of disease such as mildew or twisted or discolored leaves. Pests and diseases are the last thing you want to bring home to your garden!
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