Annual Flowers

While starting a flower garden, selecting types of flowering plants is a challenging task for beginners. Many landscapers suggest annual flowers for the home garden. They are of the opinion that the most beautiful colors in the garden are brought by these flowers. But, actually what are annual flowers? How do they differ from the biennial and perennial flowers? And what about the popular types of annual flowers for home garden? Scroll down to find answers for all these queries.

Annual Flowers Definition

According to botany, annual plants are defined as those that require one year for completion of their life cycle. Or, in other words, they have only one growing season. You might be already aware about the life cycle of a flowering plant. In case of a typical annual plant, it begins its life cycle from viable seeds and ends by producing seeds within a year. In contrary to this, biennial plants require two seasons to complete their life cycle, and perennial plants continue to grow for many years to come.

During spring, when the environmental conditions are favorable, the previous year's seeds of annual plants are sown in soil, then they sprout and develop leaves. By summer, annual flowers bloom, which later produce seeds at the end of growing season. However, it is to be bone in mind that the planting time and blooming period of annual plants differ according to species. While some are spring blooming cultivars, other may flower in fall and winter seasons. Hence, choosing the annual flowering plant variety is up to you.

Most Common Annual Flowers

As far as the maintenance level of annual flowers is concerned, they are no different from other flowering plant varieties. The only thing is, you need to replant a new set of annual plants every year, as the previous season's plants die after producing seeds. You can collect the seeds for later use. With every passing year, you have the option of changing the garden look by selecting varied annual blooms. Common types of annual flowers, which you can consider including in your gardening project are:

Begonia
If you have a shade garden and are worried about gardening in the same, then choose hardy annual flowers for shade. And one the best choices is begonia that blooms throughout summer. In some regions, this shade loving plant is grown as a perennial, allowing growers to enjoy lovely flowers for more than two years.

Pansy
Nothing can beat the beauty of pansy flowers, which are available in different colors, such as white, yellow, orange and purple. You can plant pansies in partial shade to full shaded garden. Generally, a pansy plant blooms in early spring, while some hybrid varieties develop flower buds even in late frost.

Marigold
While coming to annual flowers for fall, marigold is such a flowering plant variety that adds fall color and winter interest to the landscape design. Available in shades of yellow, orange and multicolored shades, you can grow the dwarf version or the tall variety. Also, the marigold flower size varies according to species.

Zinnia
If you have a sunny yard, then think of growing zinnia plant. Other than full sunlight exposure, this species tolerates a wide range of growing conditions. This annual flowering plant continues to bloom from summer till the arrival of frost. Zinnia flower is found in white, pink, orange, yellow, red and multicolored shades.

Petunia
Another in the most preferred annual flowers list is petunia. The trumpet-shaped flower with rich colored petals look spectacular in flower beds, in groups. You can select petunia with single or double petals. Maintain optimal temperature required for the cultivar, and you can induce repeated blooming throughout summer months.

Phlox
Of the different annual flowers for sun, phlox is a popular plant, owing to its great adaptability. It is best grown in zones 2-11, and is tolerant to drought and dry condition. Phlox makes a wonderful color display for garden beds, borders or container gardening. Its maximum height is 18 inches and spreads to about 12 inches.

Sunflower
The sun-loving sunflower needs no introduction to gardeners. It is one of the most spectacular annual flowers, which bloom in showy head inflorescence. It blooms and yields edible seeds within 3 months of plantation. As per your garden layout, you can select the dwarf variety or the tall cultivar that grows to more than 15 feet.

List of Annual Flowers

Amaranthus Angel's trumpet African marigold Bachelor's button Bacopa Basket flower Bellflower Black-eyed-Susan Blood flower Canterbury bells Coreopsis

Calendula Cockscomb Cosmos Candytuft Diascia African daisy Fan flower Firecracker plant Forget-me-not Fuchsia Evening primrose

Love-in-a-mist Lobelia Larkspur Hyacinth bean vine Heliotrope Lantana Lisianthus Mallow Morning glory Moss rose Nasturtium

Passion flower Periwinkle Snapdragon Scabiosa Statice Sweet alyssum Sage Sweet William Vervain Viola

Truly speaking, annual flowers are excellent choices for avid gardeners, who love changes and have a passion for experimenting with different flower garden layouts. Nevertheless, if you are worried about the time-consuming steps for uprooting the dead plants, preparing soil and sowing new seeds, then consider combining them with some biennial and perennial plants. You can grow annual plants in one or two flower beds to create a color pattern with the remaining plants in the garden.