Art in the garden: Beautiful gardens include annuals and perennials
The most beautiful gardens belong to those gardeners who know that constant color in their beds and borders is the result of well-chosen perennials accented with long-blooming annuals. The bloom time of many perennials is fleeting, but annuals continue to flower all summer long. In combination, they become a partnership that pays beautiful dividends.
Tall annuals can be planted at the back of the garden. Good candidates include annuals like Cleome, Tithonia, Cosmos and Verbena bonariensis. They contribute color when back-of-the-border perennials like Delphinium, hollyhocks, Joe Pye weed, Rudbeckia ‘Herbstonne’ and others are not in bloom.
Cleome blooms in plumes of white, pink or purple and grow up to 6 feet tall. They begin to bloom after Delphiniums finish their first flush and continues to flower until early fall. Their long stems sway with summer breezes adding movement in the garden. You can purchase cleome as plants or as seeds. They will reseed once planted so they’ll return year after year for free.
Tithonia, or Mexican sunflower, has orange daisylike flowers that begin blooming in July and continue their brilliant bloom until frost. Tithonia is especially effective when partnered with yellow-blooming perennials like Heliopsis, Rudbeckia, and goldenrod. Add some blue Salvia — stunning!
Verbena bonariensis is another annual perfectly suited to the perennial border. Growing in an open, airy form to 4 feet, it’s lovely planted with pink shrub roses or added to a swath of golden day lilies. This is another reseeder.
Cosmos are an old-fashioned favorite that reaches to 5 feet tall and is available in white, pink, rose, red and orange. Your cottage garden is not complete with cosmos.
Moving to the middle of the border, medium-sized annuals extend the display of many of the most frequently planted perennials. Available in colors from soft pastels to bold brights, these midsize annuals are reliable and easy to care for.
Nigella belongs in every garden. One of the rare true blue flowering plants, it blends well with any other color. Its charming sky blue flowers extend the blue blooms of perennials like Campanula and Salvia. It is commonly called love-in-a-mist because of its feathered seedpods. Plants are sometimes available at your local garden center, but Nigellia is easy to grow from seed.
Most gardens include perennial salvias, but annual salvias belong in the border too. Coral Nymph is a delightful choice that grows to 2 feet and boasts spires of tiny blossoms in warm pink and white. It blends beautifully with pinks, lavenders and blues, and attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.
If perennial black-eyed Susan doesn’t satisfy your need for color, add some annual varieties of Rudbeckia. Indian summer, Prairie Sun and Cherokee Sunset are just a few of my favorites but there are lots to choose from. They begin blooming in July and don’t give up until the first frost.
Don’t forget about annuals with brightly colored foliage. Coleus contributes drama to any garden, but is especially useful when combined with hosta in a partly shaded garden. Although they can grow quite tall, it is easy to keep them to the height you desire by pinching.
Chartreuse sweet potato vine will happily trail around the feet of perennials creating a lime green carpet on the floor of the border.
If you want your beds and borders filled with beautiful color all summer long, don’t be a perennial purist. Include both annuals and perennials — then sit back and enjoy the show.
Ÿ Diana Stoll is a horticulturist and the garden center manager at The Planter’s Palette, 28W571 Roosevelt Road, Winfield. Call (630) 293-1040 or visit planterspalette.com.