Annual flowers can be a prime source of color to accent and enliven a home's landscape. While flowering trees and shrubs provide short bursts of color, most annuals begin blooming within a month of planting and flower until frost. The wide range of colors, sizes and species adapted to either sun or shade makes it possible to plant annual flowers almost anywhere. Annuals are perfect for beds, borders, rock gardens, window boxes, hanging baskets or as temporary ground covers and fillers. Annuals are non-woody plants that complete their life cycle in one season, ending with seed production.
Confusion can arise when an annual plant reseeds itself and appears to have a perennial habit.
Use in the Landscape Annual flowers can play an important role in a well-designed landscape. Compared to most perennial landscape plants, annuals require higher levels of both maintenance and water, so plant annual beds in easily-accessible areas and near water sources. Concentrate annuals in beds with other annuals or plants with similar water requirements. Planting annuals randomly throughout the landscape not only increases maintenance, but also lessens the plants' aesthetic impact. Although annual flowers and plants bring a variety of interesting textures and forms to the landscape, they are most notable for the color they provide.