It’s springtime in the South. Window boxes bloom, porch containers overflow, and every year folks get more clever about how to display their annuals in unlikely container gardens. Every gardener has their favorites, from delicate impatiens to butterfly-beloved zinnias.
Best Annuals for Container Gardens
Whether they’re the star of the show in a container garden or the rousing chorus adding color to busy flowerbeds, there’s nothing quite like picking annuals. Some gardeners plant perpetual favorites in the spring garden, while others use the short life cycles of annual flowers to explore fresh colors and styles each spring. Here are a few of our favorite annuals to plant this year:
- Black-eyed Susan
- Ageratum
- Fuchsia
- Marigolds
- Pansies
- Bacopa
- Calibrachoa
- African Daisy
- Impatiens
- Vinca
- Petunias
- Nemesia
- Heliotrope
- Zinnias
How to Make Annuals Stand Out
Annuals add eye-catching beauty to the garden. A few of the best ways to plant annuals include:
- Thrill, fill, spill. Plant a successful container every time. Start with a tall burst of central foliage, fill around it with low-growing flowers or greens, then let spring spill forth with plants like ivy or lobelias tumbling over the rim.
- A testament to nature. Nothing shows off the beauty of an annual quite like an unlikely container. Plant petunias in an old flowerpot, grow vinca in a forgotten toy truck bed, or give marigolds a new home in an old tree stump.
- Better together. Pair up annual plants for a bolder look. Try planting rich-hued petunias with crisp, white geraniums for a powerful look that won’t overwhelm the landscape.
Visit Woodstock’s Autumn Hill Nursery for the latest in spring and summer annuals.
