My Annual Flower Must Haves

Love this quote!!

 The garden centres in this part of the world (just North of Toronto) are full of flowers right now, so I thought I'd share some of my favourite annuals.  You can tell from the pics below that I like shades of blue, purple, pink and white in my garden.  For some reason I don't like yellow, orange or red flowers, and I've met other people at the garden centre exactly the same. I've also met people who only like yellow, orange and red flowers - must be a personality thing.

  

 Heliotrope

Heliotrope and Blue Salvia are the two flowers I put along my borders.  Usually I put the Heliotrope in the front garden and the Blue Salvia in the back garden.

 

Blue Salvia

Double Petunia

The shape of the Double Petunia reminds me of a rose.  I think that's why I like it so much.  You can also get trailing Double Petunias, and I like these in my hanging baskets along with Ornamental Potato Vine.

 Cosmos

Cosmos are great if you have a wide open space and want a more wildflower or English garden look, much like the Bachelor's Button and Poppies below.   Cosmos, Bachelor's Button and Poppies will all self-seed, which means the seed will fall to the ground, withstand the winter and a new plant will come up the next year. 

Bachelor's Button

Poppy

One thing to remember about the annual Poppies is that they don't like to be uprooted or transplanted. They will actually die if you try to move them to another spot, so just remember this when you're putting seed down.

Ornamental Potato Vine

I love the chartreuse colour of the Ornamental Potato Vine with the deep blue of Blue Salvia.  I usually put them together around my borders or in pots.  This is as close to yellow as I can get.  (Sorry to all you people who like yellow flowers.  Hey we're all different.)

Double Impatients

If you like Impatients, try these Double Impatients for a change.  Again, like the Double Petunias, the shape reminds me of roses.  These are beautiful shade plants and look best in masses under a tree or in other shaded areas.

 African Daisy

I always have African Daisies in my pots.  They look great just on their own in a pot or sometimes I put them with Lobelia.

Lobelia

Morning Glory

Morning Glory is a gorgeous annual vine, and like it's name, blooms in the morning.  This looks best along a fence, pergola or deck, and like some of the plants above, will self-seed. I planted it along my fence because I was waiting on some perennial vines to get established.  Morning Glory can be a great filler while you're waiting on other vines to mature.

It always amazes me how just a few seeds can grow into massive plants.  Below is the Morning Glory in my garden.

My Garden

All photos except this one, Morning Glory and Blue Salvia

are from Flickr or Pinterest

This is a pic of my garden from last year.  It's more of a fall garden, meaning a lot of my plants bloom in the fall.  You can see some Blue Salvia at the front and some Morning Glory at the back.

I hope I planted a seed today.
If gardening is new to you, my advice is to start small.

I know gardening and flowers can be a bit overwhelming, but just try it.  
You won't regret it!!