The Annual Flower Garden: Planting and Care

Summary

Annuals are the showstoppers of the garden world. Unlike perennials that return year after year, annuals complete their entire life cycle—sprouting, blooming, and setting seed—in a single growing season. What they lack in longevity, they more than make up for in intensity. They bloom quickly, often prolifically, and offer gardeners a chance to reinvent their spaces every year. With their wide variety of colors, textures, heights, and growth habits, annuals are perfect for those who love experimenting with new looks, color palettes, or garden layouts.

But the appeal of annuals goes beyond mere aesthetics. Many of these plants are pollinator magnets, attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds to your yard. Others serve a more practical role, helping suppress weeds, soften soil, or add organic matter when tilled back into the earth at season’s end. From containers on a balcony to sprawling flower beds in the backyard, annuals bring life and joy to any space.

This book is structured to guide you from planning to planting, then on through the growing season with tips for nurturing and troubleshooting your garden. You’ll learn how to select the right flowers for your climate and conditions, prepare your soil for healthy growth, and create designs that pop with color and character. We’ll cover everything from sowing seeds and transplanting young plants to caring for your flowers throughout the season and saving seeds for next year’s garden.