Have you ever drove by a house in the summer that caught your eye with the brilliant colors of the annual flowers?
A well-maintained house with a large front porch and a white picket fence and decorated like the front cover of a magazine?
They have the comfy rockers to enjoy their porch add watch the world go by. They probably also have a few decorative tables for their drinks and snacks.
Next, you see all the pops of color and greenery with the plants. The annual flowers and plants are thriving, covering the front porch like living art.
Are you looking for that magazine look? Do You need help? The list of easy to grow flowers will provide color and greenery to your special outdoor areas.
Listed below are the flower names and descriptions, along with some tips to grow these beautiful flowers. The plants prefer shade, sun, or a little of both. All of them are happy and will flower all season long when you start with good fertilized soil and keep them moist.
Super easy to grow annual flowers
1. Begonias – The best annual flowers for shade
The begonia is a fabulous shade plant that provides blooms all season. Some plants are short with green or purple thick wax leaves with tiny red, pink, or white flowers. The trailing plants will spill over your planters with larger flowers of pink or white.
They planted a variety of begonias in the birdbath planter, shown here. The shorter begonias are yellow and red plant and the trailing version is a pink and white. Mixing different colors and sizes of the same plant in one container can give a container a colorful textured look.
2. Marigolds – Keep the pests away
Marigolds are a hardy flower that will survive during the heat and the cooler months in the fall. The flowers and heights are unique to these plants. The large variety grows to a height of 15” and the flowers are about 5” wide. Marigolds come in solid or mixed colors of red, yellow, maroon, and orange.
Marigolds are a low maintenance plant, preferring partial shade to full sun. You will need to deadhead them by cutting off the dead blooms. This will encourage new blooms and keep your plants looking nice.
You will not purchase this flower for a fragrant smell. They have an awful smell, but the benefit of growing them is great. They will keep the mosquitoes away. When you plant your pots, add at least one in each container around your porch or patio and keep those pests away. help deter those pesky pests.
3. Petunias – Sweet and sticky annual flowers
The flowers are trumpet shaped and very fragrant. Some grow in mounds, others cascade over the sides of the planters and hanging baskets. A couple of wave petunias in a hanging basket can fill the basket with a live piece of art in weeks.
These plants will require to be dead-headed. This process will keep the plan looking nice and promote new blooms. You will notice they are a very sticky flower and hummingbirds love to feed off them.
If you enjoy attracting hummingbirds, this is the annual flower you need. They can grow them in hanging baskets to attract the hummingbirds. Plant red wave petunias in a hanging basket and then put out a hummingbird feeder. Hummingbirds will visit the feeder and feed on the petunias. You will love to watch them lying in while watching from your patio in the Spring and Summer.
4. Pansies – Great annual flowers for the cold
Pansies are a funny flower. They have heart-shaped, mixed color flowers. Every pansy is unique. The petals will have multiple colors and overlap the next petal.
Amazingly, for a dainty flower, they are hardy enough to withstand the cooler temperatures we experience in the spring and fall in the North. Unfortunately, they will die off during the hot summer months. Pansies tolerate the cold even to single digits, but dislike the heat.
5. New Guinea Impatiens – Lowe maintenance annual flowers
As shown in this flower pot, you will love the rich green leaves with the great pop of color in the flowers. Impatiens prefer full to partial sun, so keep your planters under a deck or somewhere they will receive partial sun.
They are so easy to grow and no dead heading. This is a self-sufficient plant. With no maintenance, you can sit back and enjoy their beauty all season long.
6. Verbena – a great filler annual lowers
This is a pretty, dainty flower that is low growing and enjoys full sun. In the North, it grows as an annual, but in the zones 9–11, they can grow it as a perennial. The plant can tolerate the heat and dry soil.
Verbena is great for hanging baskets or any other container. The green textured leaves have red, pink, purple, white, orange, and multicolored flowers. This flower will compliment all your other annuals. It also attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.
7. Zinnia – Fast growing annual flowers
The zinnia is a gorgeous flower that blooms heavily when planted in full sun. They grow fast and will need to be dead-headed to promote new blooms. You will have flowers from summer to the first frost.
Their flowers come in orange, pink, red, white, and yellow. They also attract butterflies. Plant them close to your favorite outdoor sitting area ad watch for the butterflies to come and visit.
Now, you know the basic care for these beautiful, easy to care for plants. It is time for you to create your special outdoor area that looks like the cover of a magazine. By buying different plants and colors, you can add your own design to your planters for glorious color and greenery all season long. Be creative and have fun!
