Annual Flowers

California Poppy

Golden cups that carpet hillsides across the state. Closes at night and on cloudy days.

Indian Paintbrush

Bright red to orange bracts surround small flowers and glow across spring prairies.

Snapdragon

Vertical flower spikes with squeeze-open blooms. Kids love them.

Stock

Dense spikes of clove-scented blooms in soft pastels. Cool-season cut flower that fills a room with spicy perfume.

Sweet Alyssum

Honey-scented carpet of tiny flowers. The best living edging plant.

Sweet Pea

Ruffled, intensely fragrant climbing flowers in every pastel shade. Cool-season annual that hates heat.

Annual Vinca

Glossy-leaved heat champion (botanically unrelated to true Vinca minor) that blooms through humidity that wilts everything else.

Bachelor's Button

True cornflower blue that almost no other flower can match. Cottage garden classic that self-sows reliably.

Calendula

Bright daisy-like blooms in pumpkin orange and gold. Edible petals brighten salads and the plant keeps blooming through cool weather.

Calibrachoa

Mini petunias that bloom nonstop in hanging baskets. Dozens of color options and no deadheading needed.

Chamomile

Tiny daisy flowers with apple-scented foliage. Brew into tea or let it naturalize between pavers.

Impatiens

The shade annual champion. Flowers prolifically where nothing else will.

Larkspur

Tall spires of spurred flowers in deep blue and purple. The annual cousin of delphinium, easier to grow from seed and just as dramatic.

Nigella

Sky-blue flowers wreathed in feathery green bracts give way to ornamental striped seed pods. Self-sows freely once you start.

Pelargonium

The classic window-box geranium. Ball-shaped flower clusters above scalloped leaves. Tough container staple.

Pentas

Star-shaped flower clusters that hummingbirds and butterflies hit on every pass. Blooms nonstop in heat that stops impatiens cold.

Petunia

Cascading color for containers and beds. Blooms nonstop until frost.

Portulaca

Succulent-leaved sun lover with silky rose-like blooms that thrives where pavement, rock, or sand defeats everything else.

Wax Begonia

Glossy leaves and nonstop flowers in sun or shade. One of the most reliable bedding plants anywhere.

Borage

Star-shaped electric blue flowers that bees go absolutely wild for. Self-sows freely.

Celosia

Flame-shaped or crested flowers in electric colors that dry beautifully. Heat lovers that thrive in summer.

Cleome

Spider-flower with whisker-like stamens and airy blooms. Tall, dramatic annual that self-sows freely.

Cosmos

Airy, dancing flowers on thread-thin stems. Effortless cottage garden charm.

Flowering Tobacco

Tubular flowers that release sweet fragrance at dusk. A cottage garden classic that attracts moths and hummingbirds.

Gomphrena

Papery clover-shaped pom-poms on wiry stems. Drought-proof, deer-proof, and dries perfectly for winter arrangements.

Lisianthus

Rose-like ruffled blooms with the vase life of a chrysanthemum. The flower farmer's secret weapon for high-end arrangements.

Marigold

Bulletproof color all season long. The workhorse of warm-toned borders.

Morning Glory

Fast-climbing vine with trumpets that open fresh every morning.

Scabiosa

Pincushion blooms on long wiry stems dance over fine foliage. Pollinator magnet that keeps producing if you keep cutting.

Scarlet Sage

Electric red spikes that hummingbirds zero in on. Common bedding plant that earns its spot every year.

Statice

Stiff papery flower clusters that dry to keep their color for years. A cut-flower farmer staple for wreaths and dried bouquets.

Strawflower

Papery petals that already look like dried flowers when fresh. The original everlasting, hanging on long after every other bloom fades.

Tall Verbena

Wiry stems topped with purple clusters that butterflies can't resist. See-through plant for layering.

Zinnia

Easy-grow annual with electric colors. Cut-and-come-again champion.

Bells of Ireland

Tall green spikes lined with bell-shaped calyces. A florist favorite that brings architectural lime-green texture to any arrangement.

Coleus

Grown for kaleidoscopic foliage, not flowers. Pinch blooms to keep energy in the leaves.

Indian Summer Rudbeckia

Massive 6-9 inch golden daisies on a short-lived plant. Bigger and bolder than perennial black-eyed susans.

Sunflower

Pure joy on a stalk. Birds love the seeds, kids love the spectacle.