Annuals and perennials every garden needs

If you're new to gardening or simply looking to expand, here's some helpful advice about the best annuals and perennials for your garden.

• Annuals, flowers that live for one growing season and then die down, are easy to grow and bloom for months.
• Continually remove faded or dead flowers from your annuals or or they'll set seed and weaken.

Cool-season annuals prefer cool, moist conditions. They bloom in mid-spring to late spring in cooler and northern climates. Some easy-to-grow, cool-season annuals include:

• Bachelor's buttons (Centaurea cyanus)
• California poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
• Calendula (Calendula officinalis), lobelia (Lobelia erinus)
• Pansies (Viola)
• Snapdragons (Antirrhynum majus)
• Sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus).

Warm-season annuals bloom later in the season, during the summer and into the fall. Some popular warm-season annuals include:

• Celosia (Celosia cristata)
• Geraniums (Pelargonium)
• Impatiens (Impatiens wallerana)
• Marigolds (Tagetes)
• Petunias and salvia (Salvia splendens and S. farinacea)
• Zinnia (Zinnia elegans).

Unlike annuals, perennials don't need to be replanted each year. The number of years that a perennial plant will live, however, varies.

• Delphiniums last only a year or two.
• Asters and coreopsis last longer if they're dug up and divided every few years.
• Peony may outlast one's lifetime.
• The bloom time of many perennials is often limited to a few weeks or less. But a few, like coreopsis and some dianthus, bloom for months.

• Successful perennial beds must have a mix of flowers that bloom at different times.
• Some perennials have leaves that are lovely in their own right, but the foliage of others, such as delphiniums and German irises, turns unattractive after blooming.
• Consider planting warm-season annuals next to or among these plants. They'll grow tall and draw attention away from the ugly foliage.
• Choose perennials that have proved reliable in your area.

Some popular temperate-climate choices include:

• Bee-balm (Monarda didyma)
• Bellflower (Campanula)
• Black-eyed Susan (Rudbekia)
• Blanketflower (Gaillardia)
• Daylily (Hemerocallis)
• Dianthus
• Hardy asters and chrysanthemums
• Obedience (Physostegia)
• Shasta daisy (Chrysanthemum superbum)
• Yarrow (Achillea).

Almost every garden can look better with a choice selection of annuals and perennials. Bby knowing about how each of these plants work, you could create a beautiful garden that you, and your loved ones, will admire.