8:02 PM Wed, Jul 18, 2007 | Permalink
Karen Bordeleau  Email
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I used to be an annuals snob.
I don't know why -- maybe a marigold doesn't pose as much of a challenge as, say, an America rosebush.
But the older I get, the fewer challenges I need, so I've made a place in my garden for the "easy children" of the plant world. The ones who bloom nonstop around here from May into October. The ones who can tolerate a lot of sun, a little drought, even a week of constant rain.
Yes, these are the annuals, and I'm learning to respect them.
Because when June's roses, Scabiosa, cornflowers and columbine start to die back -- and before the Monarda, Heliopsis, Liatris, Hydrangeas and Echinacea deliver their riot of color, the annuals take the stage. This year, in addition to the geraniums, I've added marigolds, zinnias and scarlet salvia. I've also planted morning glories, but the Heavenly Blues (on the left in the photo above) have not yet delivered any blossoms.
So to keep color in my backyard English garden during that little July lull, I now rely on the old staples: the annuals.
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I tend to perennials since they are less work, no getting them, planting them, digging them out and tossing them in the compost every year.
But one annual I really like is white nicotiana, the old style humongeous ones, not the much smaller scentless varieties.
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I understand why you do it. There is a short period in the middle of the summer when the roses and other perennials take a break and annuals look pretty darned good.
Every time I smell a little yellow marigold, I remember the first flower I ever grew in a milk carton when I was in elementary school learning about how things grow. The smell is still precious for that reason. I don't get emotional to the same extent when I see a dish of lima beans, which I also grew during an elementary school science lesson, though.
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