Annuals and Perennials
 (Read 100+ times)
By Hans Dekker
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As gardeners with an inclination to work with nature instead of fighting, spraying and fertilizing it all the way, the alternative is to go with the natural flow. After all natures own way stood the test for 4 billion years. Why fight something that took shape in the eons before us. Go with the flow and instead of struggling upstream and being frustrated by the lack of progress, we can enjoy the beauty and relaxation of cruising downstream. This I believe to be true in life and gardening.
It's as nature dictates, annuals are programmed to flower, set seed pods and mature seed in short order. This what they do generation after generation, year after year.
Flowering Annuals are a perfect landscaping tool. When you need some quick fillers use them abundantly while you prepare a new garden design.
The planting time for annuals varies according to climate and plant. Cool-season annuals like Sweat Pea and floss flower (Ageratum) grow best when both weather and soil are cool. It depends on your hardiness zone but in my experience Floss flower can bloom from early spring until autumn.
The Marigold and Sunflower are typical late bloomers. The Sunflower tells the story of the oncoming change of season with so much style and dignity that a slight onset of nostalgia autumn can bring about will vanish to thin air. My experience is that the resistance I feel at the onset of autumn turns into mild acceptance when I witness this mighty representative of natures wisdom.
Mixing annuals and perennials in the same garden is a great way to go. You put the perennials into the middle and keep the short annuals for the edges. You could alternate things like mondo grass and pansies for an attractive edging, and then when the pansies are starting to fade off, you still have the mondo grass.
Or you could design your garden so that spring, summer and autumn flowers are interspersed throughout. That way there will always be something of interest to look at. If there is a bare spot, pop in something from the nursery that will soon be blooming.
All living things are programmed to one important task, survival. Therefore they set seeds, while we like to enjoy flowers. Here I must admit to do some battle of my own, or use natures programming to my own advantage. It's only how you look at it. I usually deadhead my annuals , snap off faded blossoms before the plant can make seed.
That way new blossom will replace the old ones. In fact you have made the plant believe it hasn't finished yet. If you prune faded foliage as well, you can even have them bloom with more exuberance.
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Author Bio Box: Hans Dekker
 Hans writes about flower garden design and loves to play around withwater gardens
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