- Bachelor's buttons are colorful annual flowers that thrive in sunny locations.violet cornflower image by Vita Vanaga from Fotolia.com
Annual flowers are prized by home gardeners for the strong visual impact of their vivid colors and a variety of shapes and sizes. Though they live just one season, annuals generally will flower the whole time, giving them an advantage over most perennials, which have shorter bloom times. If you're planting your annuals in a sunny spot, be sure to verify whether the species you've selected can tolerate full sun. - Bachelor's buttons annual flowers-- scientific name Centaurea cyanus -- bring a burst of vibrant color to your gardening space with full blossoms of white, pink, blue and purple accompanied by green foliage. With an upright habit, these hardy annuals bloom from June through October and thrive in sunny locations. Bachelor's buttons, sometimes called cornflower, make good border plants and prefer moist, well-drained soil, according to the University of Illinois Extension Service. These annuals reach a height of 12 to 30 inches.
- Nasturtium annual flowers perform best in sunny locations with a display of five-petaled flowers in shades of red, orange and yellow with green foliage. Grown as ornamentals or edible plants, nasturtium includes shorter, compact varieties; the trailing type, which are good for hanging baskets; and a vining variety large enough to merit a trellis, according to the University of Vermont Extension Department. These annuals begin their bloom during May and prefer sandy soil, though they tolerate nearly any soil type that is not extremely rich or fertile. Nasturtium's scientific name is Tropaeolum.
- Floss flowers -- Ageratum houstonianum -- offer a range of flower heights for a sunny spot in your home garden. From 6 inches to 36 inches in height, cultivars like Blue Hawaii grow from 6 to 12 inches while Red Sea towers over shorter plants, at 24 to 36 inches, according to the University of Illinois Extension Service. Smaller varieties of floss flowers are good for edging, while taller ones can be used as specimen -- or stand-alone -- plants or as cut flowers. These tender annuals thrive in moist, well-drained soil and bloom from May through October. Floss flowers take on a mounded habit with green foliage and blossoms in purples and pinks.
previous post