Annuals and Perennials for the Garden
Choosing the right perennials and annuals for the flower garden can be a challenge. Rick Pudwell Director of Horticulture for Memphis Botanic Garden gives some tips on choosing and shows some examples of each.
Annuals are plants – usually grown from seed that live one season, set seed, and then die. Because they only live a short time, they tend to flower most of their lives. Perennials on the other hand are plants that live several years and usually only flower once a year at a specific time. If you deadhead perennials, they may produce another set of flowers later in the year.
You need to think about the conditions where you are going to plant – sun, shade, wet, dry – and pick a plant that will do well there. If you would like flowers blooming all year around, visit a nursery every month of the year and each time, pick a plant that is blooming. Some perennials even bloom in the winter. Proper soil preparation is important. Add organic material and get a soil test to see if you need to change the pH or other conditions for the plant.
If you are starting a garden, start small. Plant where the plants will be easy to water and maintain in the hot summer.
Rick shows a few examples of different plants.
Related Resources:
Growing Annual Flowers
Growing Annual Flowers: Planning, starting and caring for a garden
Growing Perennials
Gardening with Perennials
Annuals are plants – usually grown from seed that live one season, set seed, and then die. Because they only live a short time, they tend to flower most of their lives. Perennials on the other hand are plants that live several years and usually only flower once a year at a specific time. If you deadhead perennials, they may produce another set of flowers later in the year.
You need to think about the conditions where you are going to plant – sun, shade, wet, dry – and pick a plant that will do well there. If you would like flowers blooming all year around, visit a nursery every month of the year and each time, pick a plant that is blooming. Some perennials even bloom in the winter. Proper soil preparation is important. Add organic material and get a soil test to see if you need to change the pH or other conditions for the plant.
If you are starting a garden, start small. Plant where the plants will be easy to water and maintain in the hot summer.
Rick shows a few examples of different plants.
Related Resources:
Growing Annual Flowers
Growing Annual Flowers: Planning, starting and caring for a garden
Growing Perennials
Gardening with Perennials