Guest Author - Kimberly Cassandra Cannon

Annuals are the hardest working plants on the face of the earth (besides weeds). They give more bang for the buck for at least a year with ongoing color and many varieties that will fit anyone’s garden. Whether you are a formal or informal gardener, annuals have a way of making an impact through a stream of color all the way through the seasons.

Although gardening is a passion for most gardeners, there are some that would like only to plant a few nuggets of color, sprinkled throughout the garden and sit back and let nature do its course. However, avid gardeners know that it takes much more than that to show evidence of a well-planned and maintained garden. Nevertheless, annuals can lessen the work in your garden by providing color when perennials, bulbs and other plants of interest have ceased.

The enjoyment of their color precedes the highlight of bulb performance and concludes with unending color as bulb foliage yellows and dies back.

In order to use annuals, recognize there is a category for each one. First there are the cool-season annuals, then the warm-season annuals and a third one called transitional annuals (those that can be grown in both seasons). The thing about cool-season annuals in specific is that since they prefer cooler temperatures, they are perfect for providing a bed of color pending the arrival of spring bulbs planted.

They vary in how much cold they can tolerate and have a need for temperatures not to exceed 80 degrees. There are some that prefer even colder temperatures that will be mentioned in conclusion. Even though cool-season annuals will continue to flourish at the end of the spring season, as temperatures begin to rise, their life cycle diminishes slowly. Their availability starts near the end of September in warmer climates and a bit later in colder climates available for use.

The sky is the limit when it comes to their uses. For instance, sweet peas are pleasantly fragrant and can transform a fence in a minute, with its tendrils whereas, for the cottage garden look, a mixture of annuals can bring about that type of display. Nevertheless, nothing showcases more excitement than the mixing of annuals with bulbs.

Whether the spring or summer seasons, they create exciting and practically endless possibilities in the landscape of your garden when planted in the middle of or surrounded by bulbs. Here are several suggestions of many cool-season annuals used in coordination of spring bulbs:

• For the formal garden, consider using in mass which is key success in formal bed uniformity. Whether one type be used or three different annual types, after planting of bulbs with the same light and water requirement have been complete, simply add annuals to the surface with a straight row or pattern;

• For the informal garden, try combining the annuals with one color contrasting the bulb color of blooms. For instance, use white alyssum with purple tulips or pink dianthus with purple hyacinths;

• Edge a flower bed with a sea of consistent color to give color shock while the bulbs have yet to come into bloom;

• Should you have a small bed, plant bulbs first, then add annuals as a groundcover to give spontaneous color even after bulbs have began its blooming stage and finished;

• Planted in groups, alyssum, dianthus and snapdragons look like jewels in a garden as season long fillers;

• Why be left without flowers once the bulbs finish, plant cool-season annuals every autumn and they’ll give you color up until early summer;

• Avoid the sparse look by filling in gaps between shrubs and bulbs with annuals completing the full landscaped look;

• Be sure to add some to your containers for autumn through spring. Beautify your patio/porch as a welcome signal for the holidays. First, give your planters a recipe of bulb lasagna. This is when bulbs are planted in layers making sure there is about two inches of soil between each tier. For example, use a medium to large sized container place the bulb that requires the deepest depth to be planted first, cover with soil. On the next layer, add the next bulb requiring less depth than the first layer and so on and so on until you have at least 3-4 layers of bulbs. Top off this lasagna with garden cheese, that is, a cluster of cool-season annuals. Choose annuals that are the same height or smaller than the height of the container and that require the same light and water requirements as the bulbs planted lasagna style; and lastly,

• Pansies, violas and ornamental kale can be planted once the night temperatures remain at 50 degrees;

Here is a full listing of cool-season annuals to select from according to taste for your garden: ammi, asarina, aster, bachelor button, brachychome, calendula, candytuft, cobbity daisy, cosmos, dianthus, English daisy, foxglove, hollyhock, kale and cabbage, larkspur, lobelia, mimulus, nasturtium, nigella, pansy, poppy, salpiglossis, schizanthus, snapdragon, statice, stocks, sweet alyssum, sweet pea and viola (not all annuals are available in every climate. Check local nursery for availability).

This gives reason to add annuals to your garden intermixed with bulbs to do all the work it is summed up to do and more.