Annual flowers are what keep a garden looking colorful and fresh. Unlike perennials, which bloom season after season, annuals need to be purchased and planted each year. But annuals also allow a gardener to create a different look and mood in the garden every season. It's like changing paint color and fabric indoors. The Smart Guide to Annuals, by the Editors of Creative Homeowner, have compiled this helpful gardener's guide to growing flowers.
About Annuals
Annuals complete their life cycle in a single growing season. Perfect mixed in beds with perennials and bulbs, they are also lovely in window boxes or containers, as filler between shrubs or around tree trunks. They are also a wonderful choice for cut flowers. Some favorites that are particularly hardy include Cosmos, Sunflower, Daisy, Marigold and Portulaca.
Garden Design
While lawn care services are great for maintaining the yard throughout a season, homeowners needs to put thought into garden design and flower selection in order to have a garden that reflect their taste. Smart Guide to Annuals suggests assessing the site for factors such as light, wind, moisture, temperature and soil conditions. There are simple instructions included for creating good garden design.
Garden Basics
Garden basics include soil preparation and learning to build an in-ground bed, Annuals explains how to judge water needs, the purpose of mulching, and tips on weeding to maintain an established garden.
Drying Flowers
Drying flowers that were once living in the garden is a wonderful way to preserve them after the season is complete. Dried flowers make nice arrangements indoors, and it's a fairly easy skill to learn at home. Instructions are provided in Annuals for not only drying flowers, but for making wreaths and other arrangements once the flowers are dry. Some good choices to plant for drying include:
- Dill
- Cockscomb
- Bachelors button
- Sunflower
- Viola
- Pansy
- Zinnia
Favorite Annuals
This gardening guide includes a comprehensive chapter on the different types of annuals available, and what can be expected from them in terms of hardiness; bloom time; height; spacing; needs for light, soil and moisture; and their best use in the garden. A few favorites that offer beautiful color include:
- Begonia
- China Aster
- Larkspur
- Morning glory
- Cosmos
- Heliotrope
Summary
The Smart Guide to Annuals is a thin reference book that takes up little room on the bookshelf, while providing important information that can be readily accessed as needed. While the Internet is loaded with useful gardening information, it can be faster to find information in a hurry (or while outside enjoying the garden) in a book. This affordable guide to annuals is filled with useful information and lovely color photographs every flower gardener will enjoy.
Title: Smart Guide to Annuals
Author: Editors of Creative Homeowner
Publisher: Creative Homeowner, 2009, 96 pgs., $10.95
ISBN: 978-1-58011-419-6
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