If you plant cone flowers by the garage this year, they will bloom in season, die out during the winter, then come up next year, and the next, to bloom again. First, since annuals like petunias, marigolds and impatiens are born, grow, bloom and die in one season, it seems clear that they are more labor intensive than plants that continue blooming over time. One benefit of using annuals in the garden, however, is ease of availability. Such plants are big favorites of commercial growers, and appear in the spring in a large variety of colors and types, such as double or single flowers, low or medium height plants, and a multitude of colors. Since they are often already in bloom when they are purchased, the gardener can easily visualize the appearance of the garden with their addition.
Many annuals continue to bloom and grow all through their season.
They can be clipped, their spent blossoms removed, and new blossoms will form, making for long lasting color and texture in the garden. In addition, annuals are inexpensive to produce and obtain. If some of the annuals purchased fail to thrive, they can be ripped out and more annuals replanted. When a bare spot in the garden suddenly appears it' a simple matter to buy an annual plant or two and fill in with them until more permanent plans are possible. If you grew impatiens before, you pretty much know how they ll grow again.