Enjoy plants more by choosing annuals that need little care

This year, when choosing annuals to add nonstop color to the garden or containers, select plants that don't demand a lot of fussing to keep them beautiful. Instead of spending your time pruning and deadheading, spend it with a cool glass of lemonade while soaking in the summer sunshine.

Here are my favorite low-maintenance annuals.

At the top of the list is calibrachoa, commonly called million bells. Nearly covered with tiny, petunia-like flowers all summer long, it is a great choice for trailing over the edges of containers. There are so many varieties from which to choose, in solid or patterned shades of pink, rose, purple, red, orange, yellow and white.

Plant million bells in a sunny location, water them consistently, and sit back and enjoy the show. They are self-cleaning so no deadheading is required.

Another must-have for both the front of the garden and containers is flowering vinca (Catharanthus rosea). These heat-loving beauties are often overlooked by shoppers who only visit their garden center on Mother's Day weekend. They perform through the hottest summers, blooming in pink, violet, red or white — some solid colored, some with contrasting centers — over attractive, shiny green foliage. Plants grow up to a foot high.

Give them a spot with lots of sun and well-drained soil and they thrive. If you can remember to fertilize them once a month, even better. And like million bells, they don't need any deadheading.

There are astonishing numbers of coleus available at garden centers. Not chosen for their flowers but their colorful foliage, there are types for sun and shade, in sizes from small and fine-textured to large and beefy, and in colors from bright and cheery to dark and sultry.

Plant coleus in well-drained soil and, if you want to keep plants bushy, pinch them back just above a set of leaves once each month. Even though they don't flower much, it is best to remove flowers for plants to perform their best.

I have large urns at the entrance to a shade garden toward the back of our property. Every summer, three plants of dragon wing begonias quickly fill each one with their lush, glossy, dark green leaves. Cherry red or salmon pink flowers (depending on my mood that year) bloom on elegantly arching stems.

Plant them in part to nearly full shade or filtered sunlight. They don't require deadheading or a lot of watering, which is why they have earned their place in my urns so hard to reach with a garden hose.

Wax begonias are another ideal choice for gardeners looking for a more compact plant. Great in the garden or in containers, no deadheading is needed to keep them in bloom.

Annual grasses are another great option to add color and texture to containers without deadheading, pinching or pruning. Purple fountain grass is a classic for larger pots with its graceful, reddish purple foliage. Fiber optic grass is a cutie for tickling the edges of smaller vessels.

• Diana Stoll is a horticulturist, garden writer and speaker. She blogs at gardenwithdiana.com.