Cool Flowers. Lisa Mason Ziegler

Such plants are often called a half-hardy perennial. Feverfew follows this habit, a great garden plant that flowers from seed the first year. In subsequent years, it either disappears or loses its attractiveness in the garden. To prevent suffering an untimely loss or experiencing a hole in the garden, we grow feverfew as a hardy annual, replanting yearly in the fall for a profusion of button blooms every spring.

      A biennial such as foxglove can also be grown as a hardy annual. This allows you to eliminate much of the growing time normally spent in tending and caring for a plant that will not bloom until the following year. Biennials are not as widely grown because of this long time-lapse to get results. Traditional seeds are sown in late spring. The plant must be tended all summer and into fall to have it go through winter and produce blooms the following spring.

      But growing foxglove as a hardy annual is different. You start plants from seed in late summer, allowing the immature plant to winter-over, and then watch the plant bloom the following spring. This way, you have eliminated months of plant care during the heat and possible droughts of summer.

       Easy to Get Started

      Many hardy annuals prefer to have their seeds cast directly in the garden. The fall and early spring seasons often tend to our seeds better than we do. This is the best time to get acquainted with planting seeds in the garden, because it is the most forgiving time. There is a little rain and snow just when it is needed, along with cooler night temperatures and some warm days. All of this makes perfect growing conditions for our seeds. Add to this the benefit of the winter rains and snows, and they will thrive with little attention from the gardener until it’s time to bloom. Some will cast their own seeds in the garden to return year after year. Once your plants begin to cast their own seeds, you can take your cues from Mother Nature when to plant. Some of the greatest lessons learned have come from mimicking what nature does, and when.

      Bells of Ireland baby plants that wintered over. I planted their seeds directly in the garden the previous fall.

      The seeds of many hardy annuals can also be easily started indoors. It is sometimes more practical to do this and then move the transplants into the garden. Because mulching can be done right away when planting, it reduces the need for weed prevention chores and can widen the window of times to plant. A nice bonus to starting indoors is the comfort of the gardener on hot summer or cold winter days. In the dog days of late summer, I thoroughly enjoy heading indoors to start seeds for fall planting.

      On a visit to my friend Dave Dowling’s flower farm, Suzanne and I discovered these gorgeous delphiniums ‘Pacific Giants’.

      In my experience, one of the greatest struggles of late winter is to resist starting tender annuals such as zinnias and sunflowers too soon. These warm season plants become overgrown and unhappy waiting for the soil to warm for the proper planting time. Starting hardy annual seeds to be planted into cool soil fills that urge perfectly, and helps the gardener wait until the proper time to start tender annuals.

      Growing hardy annuals is especially appealing because you prepare and plant them at a time when little else is going on in the garden. Preparing the garden becomes a pleasure as you tackle the task during the fall when cool nights and shorter days have arrived. If you are planting both in the fall and in early spring, the soil should be prepared in fall. Winter rains and snow make it difficult to find a dry spell to dig in the garden for early spring planting.

       A Haven for Pollinators

      With your hardy annual garden you’re going to notice the vast number of early season “good bugs” buzzing around. This would include native bees and many other pollinators. Because there are so few sources of nectar and pollen this early in the season, hardy annuals really provide for these guys when they need it most. This also gives my garden an early start on building the community of beneficial insects that are essential to our organic gardening success. While many gardeners are aware of the benefits of the most popular beneficial insect, the ladybugs, there is a whole army of others that help our gardens as well. Many of these beneficial insects are searching for food and a place to live and raise babies in spring. A garden planted in fall, winter and/or early spring is a perfect fit for them.

       Watching and Waiting

      The anticipation I experience waiting for this garden to pop full of blooms during the winter and early spring compares to little else. All winter I watch from the window, wondering about those little plants I planted in fall. Will they survive the whipping winds and below-freezing temperatures? The snow? Yes, they do survive, they really do. This scenario plays out in my mind every year. Perhaps the scariest thing I do in January is to go out and take a closer look just to see what is going on in this garden. It’s always the same; I am met with frozen, tattered plants that look like they will never live to produce a bloom. Panic sets in. Then I remind myself that the most valuable part of the plant at this time of year is the root stretching and going deep underground, hiding away snuggled in rich soil and protected with mulch. My heart leaps for joy every year when I see the first little green shoot pushing up next to that tattered plant.

      The blooms of this black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia ‘Indian Summer’) are often larger than your hand.

      Pincushion Flowers

      There are so many aspects of a hardy annual garden that are empowering to gardeners: you plant when little else is going on in the garden; it is cooler; rain is more frequent, eliminating watering chores; and the act of fall planting introduces a new feeling of anticipation for spring. Waiting for this group of flowers to jump into action in spring is so exciting. I find myself snooping around the garden just looking, wondering and waiting. I could stay out there for days cuddling these plants – even though they don’t require it! I know that for the rest of the winter they are ready and waiting to perform for me. That is just one of the many reasons I love to garden.

      Once you understand this fascinating, easy, and beautiful group of flowers, I think you will be hooked too.

      Three

      WHEN TO PLANT: FOLLOWING MOTHER NATURE’S CALENDAR

      When it comes to hardy annual gardening, nothing has a greater impact on success than the timing of planting. With dismal results, many of us have been planting hardy annuals just at the very time when most of them should be bursting into bloom. I think the confusion around when to plant is deeply rooted in the word “annual,” because we commonly associate it with flowers we plant in spring to bloom through the summer – the tender annuals. How did we lose our understanding of hardy annual flowers and when they should be planted?

      One of the most fragrant and beautiful sweet peas – ‘High Scent’.

       A Rekindled