Annuals

I'm still thinking whether I should put my Nicotiana annual indoors. Fellow flower collectors told me that I should keep it indoors if it's winter, and in a partly shaded area in the home garden when it's summer. So I guess I would just let the Nicotiana adorn the window outside of my bedroom. If anyone passes by and smells the powerful fragrance, especially at night, I won't be surprised. Nicotiana has been known for its wonderful scent and purple, pink, green, or white flowers.

They do look common at first glance, but Nicotiana buds, a.k.a. Deep Purple, are an exciting sight. I don't water them very much as they drown easily. These flowers characteristically bloom even without enough cultivation. In fact, they can handle extreme drought cases and do not require special soil or fertilizer. Sometimes, I extract the flower's scent in a bottle, because it's heavenly. You can smell the flower's natural perfume better at nighttime.

Flower lovers who like vivid and outstanding colors should plant Nicotiana, as I did. If you choose the purple and the white ones, they really make your garden glow. The White Sylvestris is perhaps the best specie of Deep Purple. You can plant them even on old pots and they can live without too much caree, as long as there isn't too much water. In fact, it would be better to keep them away from flooded areas. Also, know when to cut the old stems so that the new buds have room for growth.

Are you familiar with Coleus plant? Well, I like growing Coleus plant in the garden. This plant is durable and very easy to grow. These annuals are known for their bright colors, and variety of foliage forms. They can thrive in bright areas, or in areas with indirect light or in partial shade. Most Coleus plants can tolerate overexposure to sun. However, it is still better if they are planted in the shade. Also, even though this plant belongs to Nettle family, Coleus do not have a stinging property just like other members of the family.

When I am bored, I usually go to the garden and look at the different plants planted there. Coleus plant is the first one that can catch my attention. During weekends, I can let go of my new Nokia phone because I am too busy planting and removing dried leaves from my Coleus plants. As you know, there is a particular part of my garden that I devoted for my Coleus. Near this area is a table where I sit and do my other work. My stress is easily relieved every time I look at them. Isn't it refreshing to see such lovely annuals after a busy day? Definitely, yes!

I remember when I was a kid, I would directly go home after school to help my Mom in her garden. She grew a lot of plants there and her favorite was the annuals. She planted different annual plants with various colors. There are pink, yellow, white and combinations. That is why when these plants bloomed, her garden looked like a paradise. Among the annuals that she planted, these attractive daisy-like flowers that cover the succulent leaves is my favorite. It provides colorful display in a sunny environment. One advantage of planting this annual is that they thrive even in poor soil so you do not have to use fertilizers.

During weekend, I usually wake up around eight in the morning. It's a habit for me to look at the garden first before I went down. Seeing those lovely and colorful flowers definitely brightens up my day. After doing my morning rituals, I will immediately go to the garden and assist my Mom there. Then, we will have the lunch in a table near the garden. I love remembering those annuals because everytime I see them, I also remember my mother and our bonding moments. Sometimes, I wish I am a kid forever.

Beautiful flower garden often comes with a beautiful house design. Flowers can also be used to enhance the interior design of your house. That is why it is very essential to know the tips on how to make, enrich, and fertilize beautiful gardens. First, you need to know the things that you need in making one.

Find out if the soil is suitable for raising flowers by bringing a sample to a laboratory authorized to test soil. If the soil contains more phosphorous, then it most likely that plants and flowers will grow healthily. The test furthers lets you know the amount of certain elements like calcium and potassium as it provides you the soil's pH level. Then, set a regular level of fertility, meaning put the right amount and right kind of soil fertilizer.

Apart from the basic, add also fertilizer for maintenance and fertilizer at the start of your gardening. Then, it is high time to side dress using nitrogen which comes form the matter that is organic, maintenance fertilizer and side dressing itself. See to it that you maintain the organic matter of the soil. Just follow these tips and other helpful tips in order to create a beautiful garden full of plants and flowers. Bear in mind that plants and flowers emit oxygen that we need in order to clean the air and for us to maintain a healthy body.

I like flowers that grow in vines because they give an instant shade to your houses. They also give your houses a mysterious and palatial look.These vine flowers make drab house designs look lovely and fresh all the time. That's why I opt for annual flower vines to have different kinds of floral house designs. My first choice is the Morning Glory flower vine. These flowers are very easy to plant and maintain.

The Morning Glory has more than 200 species and all of them are bright and colorful. Usually, the Morning Glory blooms in blue, purple, pink, scarlet, white, and sometimes multi-colored. The flowers are formed like trumpets and the leaves are heart-shaped. The leaves grow from 4 to 5 inches long. The Morning Glory vines grow very fast. Usually, they reach up to 10 feet in height. When the seeds begin to spurt, the vines would immediately grow after a month or two. This flower vine prefers a nice cloudy weather. From dawn to midmorning, this flower vine would blossom and open. They're very dependable when you want to cover your fences, hedges, and even as temporary ground covers.

I like taking care of annual flowers because they're seasonal. It's like growing babies over and over again. I never get tired of planting them, much less growing them. But, sometimes I tend to overdo watering them so the plant dies. The best way to maintain an annual flower is to know how to properly water them. This is a big factor not just for annuals, but for all kinds of flowers as well.

You see, it doesn't mean that if you regularly water the plants that they'd grow healthy and vibrant. Too much watering can actually make the flowers drab and lifeless. The best way to water your annual flowers is to water them an inch every week. Another very important thing is to provide your flowers with enough sunlight exposure. You would have to strategically place them on a spot which exposes them to the sun. Your measurement should just be an inch so the flowers would absorb the water efficiently.

If it doesn't rain, then you would have to water "deeply." This allows the roots for a quick and healthy growth. You have to keep the "foliage" dry when you water your flowers. If you're using the traditional sprinkler, you have to make sure that you water in the morning. That way, the foliage will be dry by night time. You just have to keep the flowers moist, and remember that you don't have to water them everyday to keep them alive.

Scientifically known as Ageratum houstonianum, Flossflowers are among the most popular annual flowers. This is commonly used as the garden's border or edgings because it grows quickly into a mound. Usually, it comes in the colors blue, purple, white, and pink.

When you decide to plant this in your lot, make sure you do not choose the pest variety. This is the plant that grows quickly and invades the space of other plants. For this reason, it will just ruin your garden landscape instead of beautifying it.

As much as possible, buy these plants from selected garden centers or nurseries. They are sure to give you the variety that can be tamed.

A native in Pacific's coast, this plant loves sunlight. When you water it regularly, it can bloom flowers from summer to fall.

With the cold months hanging over our heads, some of us might feel the urge to just give up on our gardens for the cold months, go on vacation and try again with a fresh batch come spring. But what they might not realize is that there are some annuals that can withstand even the harsh cold of winter.

The Nasturtium is one such plant. This is one plant that thrives in the cold, being rejuvenated by the cooler air. In fact, this plant will bloom better in cold weather than in warm weather, with fall being its favored blooming season.

But be sure to plant these annuals exactly where you want them, as they don't take well to being transplanted. Better to direct seed them instead. As the Nasturtium is a cool-weather plant, you had better keep them well-watered in the heat of summer.

This annual has variable bloom colors ranging from as dark as dark blue, lavender and purple, to as light as pink, light blue and white. The Love-in-a-Mist is a garden beauty that can seed itself, and you can have it as a fixture in your garden for some time to come.

Ranging from 12-18 inches high, the Love-in-a-Mist often blooms in late spring, summer, and from early to late fall. These require plenty of sun, but can also be grown in partial shade. Their water requirements can best be described as average.

The Love-in-a-Mist is a beautiful plant, and with its many blooming and color qualities, it can make your garden become a more colorful place all throughout the spring to the fall.

This fragrant annual puts out a bloom of beautiful magenta-colored, trumpet-shaped flowers, and, as the name suggests, smell just like pineapples. The Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans) grows in the full sun and grows best with regular watering. They are, however, tough plants, being able to survive droughts and recover after with only constant watering.

But the Pineapple Sage isn't just for show. The leaves and flowers are also used to add color and flavor to drinks, salads and even baked goods.

Pineapple Sage grows to a height of about 3-5 feet, with a spread of around 2-3 feet. The flowers bloom through late summer and autumn.

This beautiful white-lined plant is as charming as its name. The Euphorbia marginata, commonly called Snow-on-the-Mountain, is an annual plant that seeds itself, and so is likely to be seen year in, year out in a well kept garden. Easily seen due to the distinctive white borders on its leaves, the Snow-on-the-Mountain can become quite the scene-stealer.

As the sap is corrosive, great care should be taken in handling this plant. It needs very little water, and can thrive in the poorest soil, provided that they have enough sunlight (full sun to a partial shade). Although they react well to fertilizer, doing so may discourage the growth of flowers later on in the fall.

The Moss Rose, or the Portulaca grandiflora, is an annual plant known for its drought resistant qualities. It can grow in poor, sandy soil usually unsuitable for anything else but weeds. So why have weeds when you can have this beauty growing in that "dead" zone in your garden?

In fact, this annual is pretty much a "plant-it-and-forget-it" type of plant, needing little more than water to thrive. It’s beautiful, low growing blooms are open all summer long, and it is one of the self-seeding annual plants. So if you want a renewable plant in your garden, then the Moss Rose is the way to go.

We've often heard gardeners refer to plants as either annuals or perennials. What's the difference? And what's an annual plant?

The difference between the two is their length of life. While a perennial might and can live for years before it expires, annuals only have a year or a little more to bloom and propagate.

While annuals may only live a year and some months long, there are some that won't bloom until very near their expiration. This is why it is important to take care of annuals even if they aren't blooming just yet, to ensure that they will have a beautiful flower and bountiful seeds to replace the one that will expire.