Many mail-order companies specialize in soft perennials, and nurseries are carrying more and more kinds. Annual bedding plants often give more dramatic color for the months when they bloom, but they need to be replanted each season. Plant collectors and breeders have been introducing new species and hybrids, so there are choices for full sun or shade, for dry or wet soil, and in a whole palette of colors and textures. First, some definitions. Many people get the terms annual and perennial backwards.
Annuals are plants which flower the first year, and then die at the end of the growing season.
Some of our summer annuals such as fibrous Begonias will survive the winter and act as short-lived perennials. Sweet William, Canterbury bells, Hollyhocks, and most Foxgloves are biennials. There are two basic types. Woody perennials such as Lavender and Rosemary make small shrubs. While they may have foliage during the winter, it is usually close to the ground.