Annual Plants for Summer Borders

Annuals For The Gardener

Summer is the season when gardeners can finally start to stand back and enjoy the fruits of their labor over the past few months. The borders are beginning to fill out, and annual plants are coming into their own as they flower their socks off throughout the summer sun. Here are some of my favorites to add to your borders this year.

Nasturtiums

I absolutely adore nasturtiums; they always make me think of my childhood spent running around in my grandparent’s garden. Nasturtiums are such an easy plant to grow from seed, and will flower continuously throughout the summer if you keep on deadheading them. I like to grow them up through ajuga or between paving stones as they have a tendency to flop over otherwise. They’re also great for attracting pollinators into the garden.

Calendulas

Calendulas are one of those wonderfully old-fashioned flowers that have been grown in gardens for centuries. They’re incredibly easy to grow from seed, and will self-seed readily if you let them. They have a long flowering period from early summer all the way through to October, and make excellent cut flowers too. I often use them in salads as they have a slightly peppery taste.

Sweet peas

No summer border is complete without sweet peas! These enchanting annual climbers are so easy to grow from seed, and will reward you with an abundance of beautiful blooms all summer long. Sweet peas also make excellent cut flowers, so make sure you leave some stems unharvested so you can enjoy them indoors too. Plant them next to tall support such as tepees or obelisks, or let them clamber over fences or trelliswork. Just make sure you keep on top of watering them as they can dry out quickly in hot weather.

Annual Plant Recommendations

ANNUALS. These provide the bright displays of colour in our gar­dens. They are the plants which, raised from seed in Autumn, Spring and Summer, give us flowers in season in massed form for cutting and garden decoration, and then die off. No garden, worth-while, can do without its beds of annuals.

Mostly it pays to make up your beds generously to get quality and quantities of flowers. That applies to each rotation of planting, whether of Stocks, Iceland Poppies, Pansies, Violas, Calendulas, Sweet Peas (in mild climates) and Nemesias for Winter and Spring flowering, or Dahlias (treated as annuals), African Marigolds, Zinnias, Phlox, Asters and Amaranthus in Summer. Delphiniums, too, like deeply dug and richly pre­pared soil, whether treated as late Winter and Spring bloomers, or as Summer beautifiers, as they are in colder climates.

Antirrhinums, or Snapdragons, rub along with less fuss, and Nasturtiums are better for poor soil.

Deep digging is best. Break soil finely, and after each batch of plants is removed, add a ration (about one inch) of cool farmyard manure. A lime dressing is necessary in areas of high rainfall, and with it give a sprinkling of any balanced fertiliser – about a handful to each yard run. Slightly rnore for poorer soils. Turn these all in 5 or 6 inches deep, and mix well through the soil.

Seeds are best sown in seed boxes or beds of light porous soil, prefer­ably coarse sand, with a leavening of mould or very old manure; the latter is merely to hold a little mois­ture. Raise in sunlight.

Rich soil is not advisable for rais­ing seedlings. It is liable to cause soft growth and hasten ”damping­ off” in wet weather. A light, sandy medium allows easy root forage and builds a good ball of fibrous roots. This aids transplanting.

Only a few of the hardier annuals are sown where they are to grow. Such as Alyssum, Portulaca, Ager­atum, Virginia Stock and Celosia can be broadcast and lightly raked. Large seeds of Zinnias and Dahlias can be sown individually, 9 to 15 inches apart, and just buried under a soft soil topping. Constant water­ing is essential to keep the surface moist and prevent ”caking” for this method of sowing, vigilance and attendance is required untill germination in case of dry weather.

Hardy and Half Hardy Annuals

Hardy annuals are those which thrive under cold, frost and heat in most climates. They are many. Half-hardy annuals usually so marked in catalogues need more coddling and mostly are raised under cover till frosts are past. Then they can be transplanted to open beds.

Annuals for Winter and Spring Blooming

Sow in Autumn
Acroclinium; Ageratum; Alonsoa; Alyssum; Anchusa; Anemone; Antir­rhinum (Snapdragon); Calcndula; Calliopsis; Candytuft (Iberis); Cen­taurea (Cornflower); Chrysanthemum (annual); Cineraria; Clarkia; Del­phinium; Dianthus; Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis); Freesia; Godetia; Gypophila; Larkspurs; Leptosyne; Linaria; Linum; Lobelia; Lupins; Mathiola (Stock); Mignonette; Nemesia; Nemophila; Nigella (Love-in-a-Mist); Pansies; Polyanthus; Poppies (Ice­ land and Shirley); Primulas; Ranun­culus; Schizanthus (Poor Man’s Orchid) ; Stocks; Sweet Peas; Viola; Virginian Stock; Wallflower.s (annual).

Summer Flowering Annuals

Sow in Spring
Acroclinium (E.erlasting) ; Ager­atum; Alonsoa; Alyssum; Antir­rhinum; Asters (annuals); Balsam; Begonias (Bedding); Brachycome (Swan River Daisy) ; Calliopsis (annual); Capsicum (Ornamental Chili); Cclosia, or Cockscomb; Coleus; Cosmos; Dahlia; Dianthus; Didiscus (litte Lace Flower) : Dimor­ photheca; Eschscholtzia (Californian Poppy) ; Gaillardia (annual type) ; Globe Amaranth (Gomphrcna); Gypsophila; Helichrysum (Straw­ flower, Everlasting) ; Hunnemannia (Mexican Poppy); Kochia Marigold (African); Matricaria (Camomile); Nasturtium; Petunia; Phlox Drum­mondi; Portulaca: Salpiglossis: Salvia ( treat as annual); Saponaria; Seabiosa; Sunflower (annual) ; Tithonia; Torenia; Ursinia; Verbena; Viscaria; Zinnia.

So there you have it: three of my favorite annual plants for summer borders. Nasturtiums, calendulas and sweet peas are all easy to grow from seed, will flower abundantly throughout the summer months, and make excellent cut flowers too. So why not give them a try in your garden this year?