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Annuals & Perennials

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Anonymous

13y ago
Updated: 9/16/2019
HOW TO CHOOSE ANNUALS AND PERENNIALS FOR YOUR GARDENMany gardeners love planting flower beds, but are intimidated by the amount of flowers available. Learn to distinguish an annual from a perennial and which will grow well in your yard.If you're feeling a bit overwhelmed by the variety of annuals and perennials that are available at the local garden shop, fear not. Combining a few perennials with some annuals will help to diminish the amount of gardening you will do each spring planting season.

Difference Between Annual and Perennial

Most flower gardens have a combination of annuals, perennials and biennials. The perennial is a flower or plant that will survive year after year, producing fruit or flowers and seeds. Additionally, there are two subcategories of perennials: herbaceous and woody. Day lillies and irises, examples of herbaceous perennials, will die at the end of the season, then regrow at the beginning of the next season. Woody perennials, such as trees and shrubs, will stay the same all year long. On the other hand, annuals, such as geraniums and pansies, are plants or flowers that die at the end of the growing season and do not come back.

Planning Your Garden

Think about your color scheme when choosing your annuals and perennials. Choose colors that complement the color of your home and each other. Plant neutral colors between bright colors to prevent the colors of your flowers clashing with each other. Also, consider the time that the flowers take to bloom. By choosing flowers with various bloom times, you will ensure that you have a flowering garden all year long. Place taller plants at the back of the garden, and plant delicate plants in the front of the garden. Include some foliage plants that have no flowers to break up the color scheme. Choose flowers that will go well in the amount of sunlight that your flower bed will receive, as most flowering plants need sunshine.

Planting Your Garden

Prepare the soil in your garden by digging up at least six inches into the dirt. Combine peat moss or a good compost into the soil. This will provide the plants with drainage. After the seeds start to sprout, thin the seedlings to give them enough room to grow and thrive. Keep in mind the size the flowers will grow to be so they have plenty of room. Feed the flowers with a fertilizer that is made for flowering plants. Pinch off dead blossoms, or let the blossoms wither and die in order to produce seeds that you can plant next year.

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Wiki User

13y ago

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