Hard to name only a few since I have come across very few flowers that I don't like. Following is a list of my favorites:
Calibrachoa - first time used last summer; loved them.
Vinca - especially the dark red ones with white centers
Portulaca - especially the double ones
Petunias
Verbena
Torenia
Calendula
Four O'Clocks
Morning Glories
Purple Hyacinth Bean vine
Nasturiums


While not an annual, I have the highest praise for Knock-Out Roses. First grew them while living in NC, and bought more for our return to our hometown in Penna.

kniphofia said:My favourites are Calendula - pot marigolds, I love orange. I also like Nigella - Love In A Mist, and the huge Ricinus - Castor Bean plant.
I don't have room to grow the half hardy ones so tend to concentrate on the hardy ones I can just sow directly.

i have over 600 breeds of castor, yellow,black,vereigated, i breed them to get bigger plants and more colors, i got pics on my facebook group, big bens botanicals,

Very cool Ben! I had no idea folks were working with new colors and variegation in castor beans- very exciting!

Ben, If you would like to have someone grow some of your seeds, I would be glad to take some off your hands, me, me.
I love the caster bean plant. The bigger the leaf, the darker the color the better.




I enjoy decorating with them.

Got here late, so will make it easy.

Basically all of the above. Of pretty much everything listed, I have grown or grow most of every year.

With the possible exception of some of those wild castor beans. I just grow the bread and butter varieties 4-6 plants per year.

Yvonne's salvia. Self seeders. Huge blooms, huge plants 3-4 feet tall.
Not supposed to do well here in Florida, but, well, they do. I just keep them out of the direct intense sun.
They like me; I love them.

I think this one could get to be a favorite:

celosia flamingo feather pink


not so sure about the cleome (lotsa room left in that pot, tho)

Carol, give it time, the cleome will fill that pot. They like the heat of summer. Love that celosia!

I love cleome Hummingbirds do too!

That celosia is a keeper, or a start-over-er every year. I was kinda mixed about the cleome, probably because it seems so delicate and I don't usually do delicate to well. So, I'm doing delicate in annuals because hey! one year only.

Delicate in appearance only, they're pretty tough plants. And at the end of season when you're pulling them out, protect your hands- they've got some nasty thorns on mature stalks! They tend to reseed themselves here and make a yearly appearance without any help from me.

Pretty but tough!

Pretty, delicate, and ..... thorns. That sounds about right. Thanks for the warning. I'll get heavy duty gloves.

With lots of sun, I really like using blocks of small and medium-sized dahlias.

In recent weeks we've had some very hot days here and the planting below needed some supplemental hand-watered (there's a sprinkler system).
The dahlias (and lobelia) are standing up very well.
The worst at handling the heat so far has been the ageratum.

The one draw back with dahlias could be the required deadheading, but they do so well, it seems well worth the effort.
Might as well do it with the weeding.

July 12, 2016

I'm inspired to try a few new annuals next year.
I have plenty of room so I plant long rows. Now I can pick bundles of bouquets. I pass them out to one and all.
Favorite for zone 4b, Michigan
Passion flowers
Zinnis
Cosmos double click
Marigold, the taller-the better
Sunflowers, for my birds
petunias, all volunteers self seeded

I had 4 O' Clocks that self seeded for years, and that's worth something.

Marigolds are easy to plant and sure to germinate.

Zinnias are good growers.

Sometimes its like in school or job. Showing up on time and being dependable matters .

@katesflowers do you start your Passion flowers from seeds or do you buy them as plants? I love them but have never had any luck starting them from seeds

Love the annual bed (and the brick path), Katesflower.

Interesting how reseeding can be helpful to some and less so to others.
Though I mixed perennial garden, I do use annuals in locations which are too small to accommodate enough different perennials for ongoing flower colour.
If the locations aren't hemmed in by a path or the like and maybe if one wants to change the annuals the next year, this can be a problem.
Loved the cleome I planted, but for the next year it had reseeded, particularly where it shouldn't be, like within the edging of the flowerbed.

Used to use four clocks in the former garden, Yardenman; think they're spectacular, but they take up too much room for our present garden.
Am a cat person too (though not other people's cats in our garden!).

katesflowers said:I'm inspired to try a few new annuals next year.

Your pictures...I love the brick pathway. I tried pavers set in gravel 5 years ago and it is amazing how weeds can grow in that!

I think I'll have to remove the gravel and pavers, set down plastic, and cover the paths side to side and end to end with pavers...

Hi Ronnie
I started passion flower from a 12" plant from our local farm grower. In september I was getting up to 13 blooms open each day. I do want to grow again in 2017, and want more colors. Wonder how well the seeds germinate?
We've had a hard frost here and those passion vines seem untouched, when other plants turned black.