Overview
A variety of factors must be taken into consideration when choosing flowers for your garden, but an important one is to decide if you want to use annual or perennial flowers--or a combination of the two.
Annuals
Annuals are flowers that complete their entire life cycle in one growing season. They die down when the end of year frosts arrive and do not survive through the cold temperatures of winter.
Perennials
Perennials are flowers that return each growing season. Their foliage will die down when the year-end frosts arrive, but their hardiness allows their roots to hibernate underground until warm temperatures return. Then new growth will emerge.
Annual Blooms
Most annuals bloom continuously throughout the growing season, providing a continual floral show. They're ideal for containers, borders, and as fillers in gaps between permanent plants. Picking the spent flowers off annuals will encourage more blooms rather than the plant going to seed.
Perennial Blooms
Most perennials bloom for a certain duration of time and then are done for the rest of the year. The length of bloom time varies between plants and some do not flower the first year they're grown. Perennials that are properly cared for can survive for years.
The Cost Factor
Perennial flowers are more expensive than annuals but if you buy annual flowers every year to fill your garden the costs can add up. If you only plant in containers, annuals are more economical for yearly replacement. Both perennials and annuals can be overwintered indoors if you want to stretch your dollars and plants further.
- Gardening Basics for Dummies; Steven A. Frowine; 2007
- The Big Book of Gardening Skills; 1993
Keywords:
perennials, annuals, flower gardening, perennial flowers, annual flowers
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