I've been getting Calibrachoa 'Pink Kiss' for about 3 or 4 yrs and put them in some of my pots. I've tried other millon bells, but this one really shines. I'm trying a new one in my area called 'Cherry Kiss', a little darker pink. I hope it does as well ask 'Pink Kiss'.

Kat

For me it's the Celosia 'Purple Leaf Flamingo' variety. I don't know how new it really is, it may have been out for more than 5 years? however for me I just saw it 2 years ago and I loved it. It's so different from the usual Celosia's which I personally never cared for. Instead this variety gets to about 4 ft tall, and the flowers are slender, spikes that are a pale pink/white in color. When touched they even feel like they are dried, so I guess the reason they do dry so well and look great as cut flowers.

The main reason I love this plant is for the foliage though, the slight purple leaf is wonderful and when put as a backdrop for the more vibrant green leaf plants, it's just perfect in my garden beds. This year I had a terrible time finding it, and it was too late for me to start them as seeds.

Then I discovered a nice surprise as I was weeding one day. I saw all these seedlings with the slight purple hue to them and I became so excited. If these are what I think they are, I may have the flamingo variety afterall.

Does anyone know if they reseed so freely?

Kong coleus, hands down! The hummingbirds love it, and it gets huge--makes a great accent for the gazebo. I'm glad I invested in one last year--now it's a staple in my garden.

This plant is not a real annual but it fits here. In our area, it is very difficult to grow biennial foxgloves - the crowns grow really well the first year, but then, our long, cold, wet winters kill them. The hybrid foxgloves "Foxy" grows very well and blooms first year from seed, Stokes sells it. And strangely, once having bloomed, you have a 50-50 chance that the plant WILL survive the next winter and come up again a second year.

These sound nice. I will look for them--love trying something new.

Hands down - statice (limonium sinuatum). Fabulous sunny border plant; one wouldn't think the pastel shades would make an impact, but they do. Extremely attractive to butterflies.

I think my favorite is Indian Prince snapdragons. They have dark red foliage with red blooms that look like velvet.

Not strictly speaking an annual, but Plectranthus argentatus (commonly sold with the name 'Silver Shield') has been a fabulous plant. I grew some from seed last year. They were subject to snail and slug attack, but most still managed to make big 2-foot clumps by the end of the summer, when they had pretty spikes of pale blue flowers (like Coleus flowers). They root just as easily in water as Coleus, and for me were easier to overwinter too. They do well in part shade, and the foliage has a stunning silvery sheen.

Angelonias, million bells and sun coleus - these are real work horses for me and get me away from the same old everyday annuals......

Lynne

Angelonia, hands down.

Not exactly a color plant but I have just tried elephant ears for the first time in a planter with other annuals that have color and I'm in love with this plant. The ears get huge! I've got a kind whose ears are "born" green and then turns black over a couple of days time, almost like being watercolored by the suns rays. I say "born" because of how new leaves emerge. It's fascinating! This plant has a maroonish red stem topped with a black ear. The stem separates and a green furled leaf peeks out, pushing out more and more, until it emerges with its own stem, the ear unfurls green and then turns black. Later, a week or two, the stem of that newer leaf bulges, cracks open, and a new leaf peeks out, startig the process over again. The process is a bit like those Russian stacking dolls, dolls within dolls, but each ear is a bit bigger than it's "mom ear". I see that you're zone 5 Ma - I got this plant at Andrew's in Amherst.

Angelonia! I planted them for the first time this year and I'm loving them. One of my favorites in the garden right now.

I discovered another great Plectranthus this year, Mona Lavender. I love this plant, spikes of lavender flowers, non stop blooming action. It will slow down in the intense southern heat, but will gear back up when it cools a bit. And the foliage is superb, dark green with burgundy under leaf. And loves the shade, where color is so hard to come by.

The Wave petunias are such a big improvement over "regular" petunias that I consider them a new annual. I'm not deadheading ours, and yet it is doing great, spreading amazingly, and each new day has more blooms than the day before. In my view, this is a breakthrough in petunia plant breeding.

MM

I love statce. If you get plants that were started in a greenhouse the end of March/start of April, they will be blooming until frost. They have no natural predators, so no only do they stay healthy, but they don't attract pests.
A wide variety of colors...I grow both Soiree and Pacific varieties.
One more bonus, they are everlastings and are easily air dried.