Those of you who do spring annuals

[treedimensional]

What are you buying this year? Are you finding all your favorites?

I have not seen any Pentas! Not ONE. I love Pentas, and they're totally MIA this year. The butterflies and bees love them too.

[NitaX]

Angelonia. I ADORE this plant. It looks so delicate, but it survives the Memphis heat like a champ.



Zinnia of course ...
(I love it for cut flowers)


Gerbera Daisies - which actually keep coming back for me. (Zone 7b). I planted some in containers and they survived 2 winters in those pots. 

Also, my geraniums survived the winter too. And my lantana. Maybe this winter just wasn't cold enough to kill them off.

Oh and Dahlias. This will be the first year I've tried them in the garden.

[simpsongal]

I'm going really safe with marigolds and red spirea because the deer don't like either. I'll try to be more interesting with my perennials and evergreens.

[treedimensional]

Apr 24, 2013 1:24:54 GMT -5 FormerlyRR said:

Same here. I have tons of containers, and I need that nonstop color. Most of my perennials only bloom for a week or two, but my annuals keep the bees happy for about 8 months!

[mouse]

I replaced all my hanging basket annuals with a mix of succulents. Mostly hens and chicks with some angelica. I hate watering that much.

I think my "annual" fuchsia is coming back for a third year. I also seem to have some evergreen snapdragons. They were blooming in January. Since last frost has finally passed I'll get some seeds in soon. I've got some lovely nasturtiums and calendula that can double for salads.

[dirtyred]

Pentas used to be scarce as hen's teeth around here, and suddenly they're everywhere.  So far I'm having trouble finding Angelonia, but I haven't been to all my nurseries yet.

[simpsongal]

Is anyone else irrationally annoyed by the Home Depot commercials encouraging young homeowners to buy tons of annuals and put them everywhere!! Like the flower tower? I guess it looks nice but talk about a lack of mature landscaping, and a lot of money for flowers that die at the end of year. And they plant everything until it's completely full - these annuals do grow (a lot!).

[mouse]

Ha! Angelica didn't look right, but neither did angelina. My friend and I swap a bunch of stuff. I got s big bucket of angelonia at the Dreaded Depot clearance section for a buck. When I transplanted it, everywhere a piece broke off it rooted. The wind must carry it too, because I saw a clump growing on a fence post. What pisses me off is the fancy grocery store and big boxes around here sell a ton of interesting stuff, but make no effort to tell what's cold hardy. It's annoying that most of the big, interesting stuff isn't, but I feel bad for the people putting out jellybean plants and the like with no idea it'll die once it hits 30.

Simpsongal, yes! That and the lack of irrigation. I'm sure it'll look awesome, until oh, midMay? In August I'm doubting even watering twice a day will keep the plants on top moist enough. I abuse the heck out if annuals when it comes to crowding though. As long as they don't get diseased or leggy I jam them in there. They'll die anyway, right? (other than fuchsia, alyssum and snapdragons, I guess)

[mrsreynolds4]

I'm jealous - I haven't even really looked for annuals yet. The late snows here have already killed too much.

[treedimensional]

May 3, 2013 8:28:28 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

Is anyone else irrationally annoyed by the Home Depot commercials encouraging young homeowners to buy tons of annuals and put them everywhere!! Like the flower tower? I guess it looks nice but talk about a lack of mature landscaping, and a lot of money for flowers that die at the end of year. And they plant everything until it's completely full - these annuals do grow (a lot!).

Your annoyance is quite rational. A landscape needs canopy, understory, and an abundance of diverse flowering plant materials to support a complex food web. END OF STORY. 
Home Depot and the like encourage homeowners to spend money and create as sterile as landscape as possible, by saturating their property in chemicals.
They should be telling people to plant more plants, and stop exterminating everything that moves. No bugs, no birds. Almost every inland bird species raises their young on CATERPILLARS. Native songbird populations are going extinct because there are not enough FORESTS to provide them with food and habitat.