20 Best Annual Flowers for a Colorful Garden
Pansies, petunias, and portulaca, oh my!
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If you want bold colors and an instant impact in your yard, then annual flowers are the answer. For starters, they can beautify your small garden and turn any landscape from drab to fab! They also attract butterflies and other pollinators to bring new life to your garden. Another reason to plant annuals this year? They're relatively budget-friendly so you change up your garden design or container plantings every year!
While annual plants will only last one season in the garden, they're a great complement to perennials, which return for many years. Annuals provide color right away, while perennials take a few years before they really show off. In fact, most perennials look a little lackluster when you first plant them. That's why you should plant both annuals and perennials in your garden. The result will be a well-rounded garden design!
Keep in mind that your annuals will do best if you fertilize them regularly. Use a granular extended release type fertilizer, which works for up to three months, or a liquid fertilizer whenever you water. It's especially important to use fertilizer if you plant your annal flowers in pots and containers since nutrients tend to leach out more quickly. This will help boost their bloom power and keep them going all season long. Now double check your plant hardiness zone and then pull on your gardening gloves to plant our top picks for the best annuals for your garden!
Marigold
Marigolds are some of the sturdiest annuals around. They come in cheery shades of yellow, orange, apricot and cream, and they can grow to a height of 6 to 18 inches tall. They’ve been popular for decades because they’re hardy and drought-tolerant once established.
Sun Exposure: full sun
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
Begonia
There are many different varieties of begonias, but they all bloom profusely in shades of pink, white and red. The winged-leaf types are especially stunning. Begonias prefer part sun to full shade, depending on the variety.
Sun Exposure: full shade to part sun
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 10
Sweet Alyssum
This sweetly-scented low-growing annual comes in pink, purple and white. It’s beautiful cascading from pots, window boxes, and hanging baskets, and pollinators love it! It will even tolerate a light frost or two.
Sun Exposure: part sun to full sun
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
Angelonia
Often called summer snapdragon, angelonia comes in upright or cascading forms in white, pink, yellow, peach, purple, and bicolor varieties. Its tiny flowers do resemble snapdragon flowers, but it withstands the heat better.
Sun Exposure: full sun
USDA Hardiness Zones: 9 to 11
Sunflower
One of the easiest flowers to grow from seed, sunflowers can reach anywhere between a foot to over 10 feet tall! Pollinators adore their late season blooms, and they come in many shades besides sunny yellow, including pink, burgundy and chocolate.
Sun Exposure: full sun
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
Ammi
Ammi is a lesser-known annual that resembles the roadside wildflower, Queen Anne’s lace. Its frilly flowers appear on long stems, and they make beautiful cut flowers. It’s easy to grow from seed.
Sun Exposure: part sun to full sun
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
Pansies and Violas
The happy, little faces of pansies and violas prefer cooler weather, so they do best in spring and fall. Give them full sun, though they’ll hang on in the heat of summer if they have some afternoon shade.
Sun Exposure: part sun to full sun
USDA Hardiness Zones: 7 to 10
Petunia
Petunias are an old-fashioned favorite that come in every color imaginable from white to pink to purple, and some even have stripes! They’re a pollinator favorite. Newer types don’t have to be deadheaded, or have spent blooms removed, in order to bloom all summer long.
Sun Exposure: full sun
USDA Hardiness Zones: 9 to 11
Cuphea
Also called firecracker plant for its bright orange cigar-shaped flowers, this annual is irresistible to hummingbirds. Cuphea doesn’t mind the heat, even in midsummer. Give cuphea its own container because it has a tendency to take over.
Sun Exposure: full sun
USDA Hardiness Zones: 8 to 11
Lobelia
Lobelia has delicate white, purple or pink flowers that drape nicely from baskets and window boxes. However, it doesn’t like the heat at all. Once temperatures are consistently in the high 70s, it gets leggy. Trim it back and it may revive in fall.
Sun Exposure: full shade to part sun
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
Calibrachoa
Calibrachoa resembles petunia but it’s a different plant altogether. The small trumpet-shaped flowers bloom and bloom, and you never have to deadhead it to keep the flowers coming. It's available in stunning, saturated colors from hot pink to orange, and everything in between. Hummingbirds love this plant!
Sun Exposure: part sun to full sun
USDA Hardiness Zones: 9 to 11
Torenia
Torenia is another hummingbird favorite with its tubular-shaped flowers in pink, white or purple with white throats. It looks beautiful tumbling out of window boxes.
Sun Exposure: full shade to part shade
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
Zinnia
Zinnia is easy to grow from seed and comes in many different colors from lime green to hot pink. It is a pollinator magnet and has a long blooming life, from early summer to first frost.
Sun Exposure: full sun
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
Cosmos
The long, elegant stems of cosmos stand tall and add beauty to the back of borders. Cosmos also makes a wonderful cut flower. They're easy to grow and low maintenance.
Sun Exposure: full sun
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
Browallia
Also called a bush violet or amethyst flower, these purple and pink blooms of this lesser-known flower appear on mounded plants. They are a great disease-resistant alternative to impatiens.
Sun Exposure: part shade to full shade
USDA Hardiness Zones: 9 to 11
Snapdragon
Snapdragons come in pretty shades of pink, white, salmon, red and yellow. Their upright spikes of flowers make a stunning bouquet, too. They don’t mind a little cold so they can be planted early in the season for a long bloom period.
Sun Exposure: part shade to full sun
USDA Hardiness Zones: 7 to 11
Nasturtium
Nasturtium is super-easy to grow from seed (soak the seeds overnight to speed up germination). Their pretty rounded leaves and brightly-colored flowers have a vining habitat, so you can help them grow up a trellis or let them tumble over garden beds. Fun fact: The flowers and leaves are edible and add a spicy kick to salads and cocktails.
Sun Exposure: part sun to full sun
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
Cornflower
The cute tufted flowers of cornflower come in blues and pinks, and they make a great cut flower. They're great for pollinators, too! Deadheading will extend their bloom season.
Sun Exposure: full sun
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
Portulaca
This low-growing succulent has pretty, bright flowers that last only one day, but the plants bloom nonstop. They’re ideal for hot, dry areas though they will grow in a lot of zones if taken care of.
Sun Exposure: full sun
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 12
Fan Flower
Fan flowers, or scaevola, have blooms in pink, white or purple. They’re a great plant in mixed containers because they spill over the sides for maximum impact. If you live in warm climates, they'll be a wonderful addition.
Sun Exposure: full sun
USDA Hardiness Zones: 10 to 11
Arricca Elin SanSone is a writer, editor, and content creator who specializes in lifestyle and gardening. With a background in health reporting, she applies these same research skills when writing about the science of growing things. She trials new plants in her expansive garden, and her houseplant collection consists of 60+ varieties. Arricca has written thousands of articles for publications such as Country Living, House Beautiful, Good Housekeeping, Prevention, VERANDA, Southern Living, and more. She’s happiest when digging in the dirt, baking, or spending time with the people and dogs she loves.
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