A Beginner's Garden: Five Favorite Annual Flowers

Annual flowers are those that must be planted each year. They bloom, produce seeds, and then die. Below are five annual flowers that are easy to grow from seed. They come in a variety of sizes to fit any growing space, and they will bloom all summer long. There is no need to start these indoors, because they will germinate and grow quickly outdoors in the sunshine. Plant them after the frost-free date for your area.

General Planting Tips
For all annual seeds, prepare the soil by digging it at least eight inches deep, and pulverize it. Mix in compost to make nutrients available as soon as the seeds sprout. For a small area, this is a task you can accomplish with basic hand tools like a shovel and hoe. Crumble stubborn clumps of soil with your hands. Remove stones and grass clumps from the planting bed. Plant seeds the correct depth, firm the soil, and sprinkle water on the seedbed to moisten it.

Zinnias
Zinnia seeds are rather large, so they are easy to handle. The seeds are flat and elongated, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch long, and sometimes almost rectangular in shape. Plant zinnia seeds 1/4 inch deep. Zinnia seeds should germinate in about one week. Zinnia seedlings appear as a pair of oval leaves, and within two days or so the true leaves will begin to grow.

Zinnia flowers come in many colors. They are also available in several sizes, with plants ranging from four feet tall with large six inch flowers, to Thumbelina varieties with one or two inch blossoms on 12 inch tall plants. Read the packet information so you buy the size you need for your planting space.

Marigolds
Marigold seeds are small and spikey-looking with a straw-like end and a black end. The black end is the seed, and the straw-like end is the remnant of the floret petals. Marigolds should be planted about 1/4 inch deep. The seeds germinate in 7 to 14 days. Seedlings begin with two long, smooth leaves that are quickly followed by the true leaves, which are deeply feathered. Marigolds are available in many sizes. French marigolds are about a foot tall with one inch flowers, and the taller hybrids grow to be small shrubs up to 30 inches tall and covered with 3 - 4 inch blooms. Marigolds are usually orange, gold, or yellow, and many varieties have red accents. Some hybrid marigolds are creamy white.

Sweet Peas
Sweet peas can be planted in cool soil before the last frost date if they are in a sunny location and you mulch them lightly. Plant sweet peas about 1/2 inch deep. They sprout quickly with ample water, usually within 7 to 10 days. Grow sweet peas along a fence or on a trellis, since they are vining plants. Sweet peas bloom early and smell sweet. They attract early bees and butterflies to the garden. The blossoms are borne in small clusters on short stems, and they are pretty as cut flowers.

Four O'Clocks
Four o'clocks are so named because the flowers are closed until late afternoon each day, when they happily burst open. Four o'clock seeds are hard and black, shaped like little bumpy ovals about 1/4 inch long. Plant them 1/2 inch deep. They germinate in 10 to 14 days. Four o'clock seedlings have relatively large first leaves, maybe 1/2 inch or so in size. They are flat and roundish, with a small "dip" in one edge. The true leaves appear a week or so after the seeds germinate. Sometimes the stems of four o'clock seedlings are pink or red, which makes them easy to spot. Four o'clocks grow well in a location that gets morning sun and afternoon shade, such as the east side of a building. The opening of their flowers is determined by light intensity, and they bloom best if they do not receive full sun all day.

Balsam
Balsam, also called Touch-Me-Nots, grow almost like branched small shrubs about two feet tall. The branches are covered with little rose-like flowers. Balsam are the pre-cursors to the modern shade-loving impatiens plants, but balsam grow well in full sun or partial shade. Balsam seeds are small, round, and brown. Plant them about 1/4 inch deep when the soil is warm. Balsam should germinate in 7 to 10 days. The seedlings have two round leaves about 1/2 inch across, with true leaves following in a week or so. The true leaves are sword-shaped and pointed, with slightly rough edges. After the flowers are pollinated, they form interesting seed pods that POP open if touched, hence the name "Touch-Me-Not".

All five of these annual flowers produce viable seeds that you can save and replant from year to year. If you want to save seeds, plant Heirloom seeds that are not hybrids. Heirloom seeds will grow true to the parent plant year after year.

Some basic gardening tips to remember:

• Keep the seedbed moist, but not soggy. Don't let the seedbed dry out completely.

• After the seeds have germinated and the plants have two or three sets of true leaves, you may need to thin the plants. To thin plants, pull out the weak seedlings and leave the strongest ones. You can also prepare another flower bed and transplant some of the seedlings to the new area, or transplant small varieties to pots.

• Weed your flower bed and mulch around the plants. Mulch will block weeds and it will help retain soil moisture. Organic mulch will break down over the summer, providing additional nutrients to the soil.

• Water your flowers whenever the top of the soil becomes dry. Don't wait until the plants wilt. If they wilt, they are already dehydrated and stressed.

• Deadhead your flowers. Deadhead means to cut off the spent flowers when they wither. Deadheading makes the plant put energy towards producing more flowers.

• Use water soluble organic fertilizer and incorporate it into your watering schedule. Feeding once every two or three weeks will keep these flowers blooming their best.

Source: Personal Experience