hpny...your combination of plants sounds great. I think I will try that ageratum leilani blue next time. I really like the blue horizon but it is really tall for containers. I think I will try that in the border instead next year and try your combo in a container.. :-)

Googled them and pretty pansies, kimka.

Bidens, I absolutely love their fern-like leaves and the small yellow flowers

Pansies, tons of flowers this year from April to July, but not the tiny ones, because I don't know why they died soon

Hi to all, I'm new here and quite new to gardening too (2th year)!!!

double impatiens. I had pink ones that looked just like little roses. easy to propagate too.

I also like the double Impatiens. I love the standard wax begonias w/the green leaves, Coleus, Gerbera Daisy, Geraniums, Cosmos (pink & white) and the big Marigolds. My favorite this year is Nicotania. The light pink and white are gorgeous, and they bloom constantly. I'm sure I'll get some of these every year.

Jen

Mostly standard ones:

balsam
amaranthus intense purple
blue rocket larkspur
white nicotiana
portulaca
tithonia 'torch'
dianthus 'corona cherry'
dark blue lobelia
wave petunia
pansies in April
verbena bonariensis
salvia victoria
shirley poppies
california poppies
dolichos lablab
grandpa ott's mgs

One I've had for many years is coleus, the dark ones in particular. I have them in sun, shade, gardens and pots and they do great where ever they are.
Curly purple leaf basil is another I'll always have. I put it in 2 very large pots by my front door. I just love the smell.
Three new plants I've tried this year are doing great so far. They're calibrachoa superbells 'Pink Kiss' and c. 'Melon'. They filled out so fast and I love their colors. Just great in hanging baskets.
The 3rd new one and a beauty is iresine aka bloodleaf. Years ago I had one as a house plant. Now I'm trying it in the garden. So far so good. It's nice and full and very colorful.

Kat

Ops! forgot
torenia (wish bone flower): great and constantly bloomer, tried for the first time this year and
nasturtium, expecially the climbing one, easy to grow from seed for me.

Hello alchemilla and welcome to GW. I am excited for you to be a new gardener. :-) I remember well how exciting it was when I first started gardening. Hope you are enjoying yourself. What part of the country are you from and what zone are you in?

Pansies are one of my favorite flowers too. It is a 'must have' for me. Next year, I want to have even more than I do now.

nchomemaker...I haven't tried those doubles yet. I did try propagating impatiens this year and you are right, it is so easy. I have enjoyed the NG impatiens.

Jen....I have enjoyed the wax begonias almost every year, but this year, I just was a little tired of them. So I am taking a break from them for awhile. They have some pretty new bicolor ivy geraniums that I like. Love cosmos too, it reseeds and comes up every year. Nicotiania doesn't seem to grow well for me for some reason. Plus I always get very disappointed that they are listed on so many lists as fragrant, but I never smell any fragrance on those I tried.

spartan....I had forgotten about portulaca. I should have had some of those this year..lol.
MGlories are another 'must have' for me too. Do you have a lot of full sun in your yard spartan? I never can get the lobelia to grow well for me and it peters out before the summer is over. Do you have better luck with them and what are you doing to get them to grow well for you?

Kat...Coleus is definitely one of my 'must haves'. I can't remember a year when I didn't have one. Mine aren't growing as well as they did last year for some reason. Basil is not doing much for me this year either. Small puny plants, very slow to grow. It has just started getting hot here in the past two weeks and I thought I would have seen more improvement by now. What are you doing with your basil?

I tried calibrachoa last year and it did ok for me. I might try them again next year. I tried looking up a photo of that pink kiss and I linked to one below. Is this what it looks like? It looks really tiny.

Here is a link that might be useful: calibrachoa 'Pink Kiss'

Hi prairiemoon2 and thank you for the warm welcome and definitely YES is so exciting to be a newbie gardener but.. so dangerous for the poor plants too! :-) I'm from Tuscany in the middle of Italy, zone 9.
Loved the picture of calibrachoa 'Pink Kiss', it looks like a a nice mix between small surfinia and torenia, I'll give it a thought for the next year.

Here's a picture of white torenia

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:17088}}

Same "must-haves" as always:

* Heliotrope
* Browallia
* New Guinea impatiens
* Elephant ears
* Datura
* Vinca

I also use impatiens in my shady areas and as fillers for shady pots, and gotta have geraniums on the front porch and a pot or two of petunias somewhere on one of the patios (the scent on a warm summer night...)

I do like to try a new plant or two every year, so maybe next year I'll find another must-have. :) (this year it was zinnias from seed, which was a bust - easy to grow from seed but ended up a diseased mess, so I threw them out).

Alchemilla...you are in Tuscany? Very far away from me here in New England. When I picture Tuscany, I think of that movie with Diane Lane in it. .. Under the Tuscan Sun. Do you have suburbs in Tuscany, or is it all rolling hills of gorgeous scenery? :-) Sounds like a pretty place to live. Do you have a long growing season?

mxk...I love heliotrope, but I don't start seeds indoors and buying them in the spring is pretty expensive. The last time I bought them and they didn't really bloom much until late in the summer, which was disappointing.

Love NG impatiens too, just trying datura for the first time this year. Haven't tried the elephant ears. Do you buy browalia or start from seed?

Prairiemoon2: that gorgeous hills you've seen in movies are just a few miles from here, but I live in a small quiet town on the plain. Our growing saison lasts from March to middle November. Summer is hot (35° now = 95 F) but winter nights can be very cold (up to -15° = 5 F). Tuscany is a nice place to live, but also New England looks the same!

I second the vinca option: I love to grow the variegated one in containers with pansies and ornamental grasses

Prairiemoon, that's what the pink kiss looks like, except the pic doesn't show the pink in the inside of the flower. The pink is right in the middle of the flower. The flowers aren't big, but there are so many. It's beautiful. I have them in 2 pots and they are so full of flowers! I have a purple colored coleus in the middle of each hanging pot and then the pink kiss and white alyssum surrounding it. My purple basil is doing well this year. Last year it wasn't as good. We've had some hot weather on and off and I think it likes the heat. Last year our summer was milder.

Kat

Torenia (first year with this; thanks to Ginny!)
Browallia (old time favorite, hard to find this year)
Impatiens (flowers look like candy... I love it)
Cascade Petunias (hard to find! but incomparable size and lovely scent; I may have to actually GROW these... damn those "supertunias" that AREN'T!)

wouldn't be without ageratum Blue Horizon - need that river of blue winding through the garden. And verbena bonarensis is self-sowing and popping up in all kinds of interesting places. Finally got opium poppies established and now hope they will self-sow. And morning glory Heavenly Blue though this year it is off to a slow start.
My absolute favorite is nicotiana sylvestris - some plants are coming up in the gravel driveway and they have to be moved towards the back somewhere. A very big plant but the fragrance in the evening is unbeatable.

I want some Ammi Majus!

Alchemilla....your growing season is a little longer than ours, normally we go from April thru late October. But our seasons are unpredictable now. Snow and frost as late as may occassionally and sometimes into November still have plants growing. Yes, New England can be very pretty too. :-)

katusha...sounds like you are happy with your containers this year. I haven't been happy with mine for two years in a row. I have tried growing from seed and while I love the cost savings and the abundance of plants, I am finding it more difficult to end up with the effect I want. It was much easier just going to the nursery and choosing the plants/colors I wanted. So next year, I may do things a little different.

hi chelone :-)
Like your list..used to love browalia, but I started them from seed this year and never again. They were so tiny for so long and they did absolutely nothing for me. I have had a hard time finding them at nurseries, and the few I did find, didn't look the same as I remember them.

Oldroser...do you have any photos of your garden with the blue horizon in it? I grew it in pots last year and enjoyed it, but not in a container. Too tall. I wanted to add them to the perennial bed, but I just couldn't figure how to use them.

I have had this combination the last two years and will go for it again next year--so easy.
Rubrum Grass and Yellow and Purple Potato Vine

{{gwi:5644}}

Also had this one last year but couldn't find the plants this year--will try harder next year as I liked it alot too.
Irsine and Alternanthera Party Time

{{gwi:17091}}

Very n-i-c-e Susy, love your combo's!

Something new that I tried this year were the new Zinnia elegans ÂZowie!, for sure, next year I'll be planting them again.

{{gwi:17093}}

Sharon

Wow..great photos! Thanks for sharing some of your more unusual annuals in photos no less. [g]

Snapdragons...any cultivar that trails. I haven't had experience growing all that many annuals but snapdragons have never failed me. I have grown starts from Wal-Mart and starts from reputable local nurseries in both full sun and full shade, and they have prospered and look wonderful all summer. I deadhead them regularly and feed them when I remember, which might be once or twice a season.

Dolce Petunias!!! For anyone who doesnt mind deadheading, this is the petunia to try. I think they are now called Dolcissimo (sp) and includes the 'Flambe', 'Frogolino' and 'Limoncello'. I grew them all this year from seed and are incredible performers; they bloom constantly and stand up to rain like I have never seen and have very thick sturdy stems that are loaded with blooms. This photo was taken three weeks ago in one of my public gardens I did for my garden club, and it is a mixture of the 'Flambe' and 'Frogolino'. (I just installed soaker hoses which is why they are visible, hadnt covered with mulch yet). You should see it now, the Melampodium has completely filled in and the petunias are nonstop color! I did another bed next to this one with the same Salvia 'Victoria' with Cherry Profusion Zinnias and the 'Limoncello' Dolce petunias.

More must haves: Rudbeckia 'Prarie Sun', all Magellan Zinnias and definitly 'Zowie" zinnias--my Zowies are perfect 24 inch shrubs! The color is quite eyecatching, although the catalog photos look very similiar to 'Swizzle' zinnias, there is a definite difference.

Another fun "new" thing for me this year was Salvia 'Artemis', a very fuzzy greyish white plant that doesnt look one single thing like any Salvia I have ever seen!

Sooo many plants to try and I never stop planning for "next year"!

{{gwi:17094}}

tangerine...
I am planning on snapdragons next year too. I saw a gardening show in which they used them interplanted with tulips and as the tulips faded, they did a great job of hiding the dying foliage. I've also seen a photo online here somewhere of a 'Day and Night' snapdragon which looked very sturdy and quite eyecatching.

ellen...
Love your photo, great job filling that bed and keeping it neat and colorful. I love the shading of the petunias and to hold up to rain is a plus. Do you really deadhead all those beds? [g] I tried petunias from seed this year and was so impressed with how easy they were from seed and how fast they came on. I will definitely try them again.

:-)

Now that the 2006 winter sowing season is wrapping up, can anyone add to this thread?

:-)

I'll repeat some great annuals:

dianthus 'fashion pearl'
white madagascar periwinkles...catharanthus roseus
zinnia 'uproar rose'
zinnia 'dreamland'
california poppy

and I know that I will add many new things next summer!

Thanks franeli..I haven't even heard of those two zinnias.

Benary Giant Lime and CandyCane Zinnias together were great
Four OClocks first time, very fragrant in the evenings
Picotee Cosmos very pretty
NG Impatiens White, great even from across the yard in containers
Blue Denim Pansy is still blooming

Must have:

Snapdragons and linarias, all of them
Aster chinensis - bloom late, but GORGEOUS this year!
Sunflowers
Marigolds, especially Ragged Reggie
Petunias and salpiglossis
Basket variety Sweet Peas (Sugar & Spice, Apricot Sprite)
Nasturtiums
Chinese Forget-Me-Not
Rhodochiton
Red salvia
Everlastings - Strawflower, Scabiosa Stellata, Statice & others
Schizanthus
Tithonia, Torch
Zinnias, most all of them
Cuphea llavea "Batface"
Abelmoschus manihot - another late bloomer
Chrysanthemum Primrose Gem
Larkspur Earl Grey

Other than that, not much! :)

Hi. I'm new to this site, but 'old' to gardening! I must have:
Pink Cosmos in the back
Zinnias, Cut & Come Again in the middle
Bachelors Button in front of those
Moss Roses in front of those.
Planters on the patio w/Red Salvia (for my hummingbirds), & white Petunias. I also had Lobiela in there, but it didn't do so good...

Hi Praire, I am in love with Alyssum most all of them but this year I grew Rosie o Day just gorgeous and what a performer also, I loved marigold 'Scarlet Scarlet' very pretty, Salvia farnicea I have a couple of varieties love em, Zinnnias Magellan and Zowie just fab, one more thing I can never live with out DAHLIAS, this year I did Unwins mixed, Diablo, and Cactus, But I love them all!!
Best Wishes, Wendey

Oh yeah and you turned me into an Agastache lover from your Honey Bee Blue, now I want to try a bunch of different ones ;-)

I have a new one to add...Calendula. I was tired of them so I tried a few different varieties this year. Got them in the ground late, so they missed the cool spring weather, didn't do much all summer, but I left them alone, with a trim. They came back once the weather cooled and they are really pretty. Big fluffy flowers with a pretty good habit, not so straggly. I think the variety was Triangle Flashback. Hope to have seeds from them this year.

drippy, nice long list.. [g] ...how do you use everlastings in the garden? I have not tried any of those except the scabiosa. What do they look good with?

upacreek...Zinnias/cosmos I use too. I usually have moss rose and missed them this year. :-)

Hi Wendey...I usually use a ton of alyssum and somehow this year I was short on them. I did try 'Apricot Shades' from ValueSeeds which were very pretty and with one trim, they went all through the summer and are still blooming. Yes, I want to try different agastaches too. If you haven't saved seed yet from them, you are in for a treat. Lovely aroma as you are harvesting them. Just harvesting your Azoychka tomatoes. Very tasty!

Venidium-Zulu Prince Daisy

I got masses of flowers from them, some blooms a good size too, 4-5"across! They are a little floppy but in my border they "face front" anyway. I just LOVE the centres, looks like someone did it with a fine paint brush. Definitely for next year. Seeds are very easy to collect and I will let some drop to see if they self-seed in the spring.

I have several current favorites that I will grow next year, hereÂs a few. I generally like annuals that easy to start from seed in or out. They also must look good the day that I plant them, till the frost gets them in October here.

Asclepias curassavica: Great tender perennial milkweed that blooms and blooms. Attracts butterflies.

Any Kind of Coleus: Great full or bit player, also wonderful for plopping in those empty spots.

Any kind of Impatiens: IÂve never been disappointed at any of them in my garden. It can be said that they are boring and over used, but hey, how can you argue with easy nonstop color in shade? I tried Balfouri this year and was quite enamored with its full bushy habit. Hope it reseeds and has enough time to reasonably flower in this zone.

Lavandula multifida: Great grown as an annual. It was blooming when as a tiny seeding in May and is still in loaded with bloom now. It sprawled a bit but the plant is still very attractive

Laurentia Axillaris: Love the airy "Blue Star" flowers and foliage. I think they are one those plants that flatter and soften any planting scheme.

Any Nicotiana: Love all of them! They reseed happily, grows anywhere and with a little deadheading, bloom till hard frost. I must confess sylvestris gets loaded aphids here however.

Ceratatheca Triloba: Interesting form, Soft hairy leaves. Tubular flowers on tall 3Â spikes similar to foxgloves, hence the common name, South African Foxglove. I plant them close together.

Zinnias in general especially Profusion: The flowers are so dramatic. Profusion lives up their name plus they donÂt mildew.

Salvias: I like them all, but I really like the farinaceaÂs. They have a good all purpose vertical form that never lets you down.

I also like Ageratum leilani blue very much too. It reseeded for me.

Must try the Bidens and Torenia. Thanks for the info all!

BTW, nice Pics Susy and Crazy Gardener!

Wow Alchemilla, Tuscany! I'm so envious!

The 3 new ones I mentioned earlier, calibrachoa superbells 'Pink Kiss', c. 'Melon' and iresine aka bloodleaf, did just great this summer. We had several weeks of 90+ also 100 and they pulled thru that just fine. These also get sun almost all day, so they had a lot to put up with. Some of the other calibrachoa I had bought didn't do well at all. I'm already thinking of what I'm going to plant next year and where.

Kat

I'm just going for the basics in my Aztecan planters: red, white & "blue" petunias, in that order from top to bottom, with the center top plant being a spike. I wanted a "fireworks"/Americana theme.

The one planter will be out back on the corner of the patio with the perennial garden next to it & the house in the backdrop, which has "vanilla" vinyl siding. This one will have the red spike.

The other planter will be out front on the door landing with the backdrop of the house is "adobe"-colored brick. This one will have the green spike.

The spikes were in the planters with different annuals since spring, so I'm overwintering both as house plants to use next year in the noted theme.

Thanks for all the additional ideas. Lots of things I haven't tried yet. :-)

Lots of good ideas here!

Based on this year's garden, my must-haves for next year are:

chinese asters (will NEVER be without these!)
zinnias in general; specifically Zowie Yellow Flame
snapdragon The Bride
celosia, especially Flamingo Feather
cosmos
gazania Daybreak Pink Shades
gomphrena
marigolds
sweet peas
sunflowers
salvia farinacea Victoria Blue
rudbeckias

I'm sure once the catalogs come, I'll have a lot of other "must-haves", lol!

:)
Dee

Great thread. I got lots of ideas for next year. Thanks everyone.

Randy

Poppies! I can never have enough of them. I especially loved 'Angel's Choir' this year.

Also Zinnia 'Giant Cactus' and 'Purple Dahlia'.

New for me was Celosia 'Orange Temple Bells'. They were tall with very cool looking celosia "brain flowers" that were dark orange with a hint of reddish pink. Gorgeous in bouquets.

My pots with dark blue and purple Lobelia and lime green sweet potato vine were gorgeous.

2006 was a great year!

I am a chilehead so I do not know all that much about impatiens. But has anyone ever had or heard of an inpatien that looks almost like a rose. We got one one year and never been able to find again. let me know please wife would realy love to get some
Dan

Gotta have:

Sunburst cosmos
Poppies with Rocket Larkspur
Black Millet (in pots so I can move them)
Merigolds (in pots so I can move them)
Impacients (in pots around Elephant Ears)

Zinnias (mid summer for fall color)

Sg

Zinnias, lots of kinds. I'll probably plant a bunch of Burpee's new Burpeannas. I didn't grow Zowie this year, but considering how many mentions it got in this message thread, I'll have to try it next year. I also did some zinnia cross pollination this year, and I'm curious to see how those F1 hybrids will turn out.

For the first time this year, I defeated my old zinnia nemesis, powdery mildew, using frequent sprayings of non-toxic GreenCure®, only to be devastated by bacterial leaf spot as our Maine days grew much shorter and the weather got cooler and wetter. The devastation was similar to the comment made above by mxk3 (Michele):

"I do like to try a new plant or two every year, so maybe next year I'll find another must-have. :) (this year it was zinnias from seed, which was a bust - easy to grow from seed but ended up a diseased mess, so I threw them out)."

I saved seed from some of my hand-pollinated "diseased mess" and, since bacterial leaf spot can be transmitted on seeds, I'll treat those seeds to prevent bacterial transmission by seed.

Next year I'm going to experiment with several different antibacterials, in addition to the GreenCure, in an attempt to combat the devastation of late season bacterial leaf spot on my zinnias.

MM

Dan, are you referring to double impatiens? They have small blooms, about the same size as regular single impatiens, but are double. They do kind of look like little roses. They're very pretty. You can usually find them in the spring at most garden centers.

:)
Dee

Dee thank you that might be it do not know like I said I am a chilehead. I will look this spring
Dan

ellen- what a BEAUTIFUL public space you've created! Thanks for the idea for the spot at the end of my driveway that is over the property line and hasn't been maintained for years after the owner across the street died. Gorgeous combination!

My must-haves are the old stand bys, but they stand-by for a reason!

-Marigolds- will diversify with LOTS of new varieties next year

-Petunias- ditto on the above, and en masse plantings!

-Zinnias- believe it or not, I just discovered these, and can't get enough of them! They will be a staple from now on.

-Morning Glories- what a treat! Trying new Japanese ones next year.

I just love threads like this -- the ideas are so wonderful! I have had the exact same combination in a huge bed for the last 5 years. Marigold 'Golden Guardian' -- not a patula, nor an erecta, but a single orange with ferny foliage -- combined with Salvia 'Victoria'. I have moss roses with zinnias in a different fairly large bed, and orange cosmos 'Bright Lights' in front of my white trumpet lilies. Then impatiens in the shade. Needless to say, although I love them all, I am ready for a change!

Through trades, I have gotten a TON of seeds, and I am excited about each and every one of them. Buuu-uuut there are still some things I want to buy. One is Celosia cristata 'Orange Temple Bells' that JaneVx mentions above. Makes an excellent cut flower, and is "newer" looking than the other kinds of celosias I can find at the garden centers.

The other things I want is an annual chyrsanthemum called 'Court Jester'. Parks has one called 'Merry Mix', but there is something fishy about the directions which tell you to direct sow after 1st frost, or two weeks ahead indoors, but then they go one to say, "Just when the summer color is fading from your annual bed, Merry Mix bursts into bloom!" Might have to rethink this one -- sounds like I would go all summer with green plants waiting for cool weather.

Triple_B had a comment about Venidium, and this chrysanthemum has those dark rings, too, which I dearly love. (But it is NOT as cool as the Venidium with rings that look like like they were applied with eyeliner in some places.)In any case, I am ready for something new and different, even if it's only orange marigolds with STRIPES! LOL!

Lime

Sweet alyssum - a fragrant bloomer all summer even in the heat
Lady in red and snow lady salvia
Gruppenblau blue salvia
Melampodium
Stargazer dahlia (easy from seed every year, quick to bloom)
Portulaca sundial

These mix with perennials like white swan echinacea, goldsturm black-eyed susans, yarrow, catmint, butterfly weed in a big sunny bed.

Sweet peas, snapdragons, and cosmos.

Hi All! I have enjoyed reading everyone's favorites and looking the up. Truely beautiful!

Growing up, I never understood my mother's love for gardening. For the past 9 years I have been a manager at a garden center. I just happened to need a job and saw the hiring sign and VOILA I hae the gardening addiction too and I finally get it!

I have lived in 2 apartments though (in the process of buying my first house) and I have been lucky to live on the ground floor and have a small patch of land outside to plant in at both places. I do a lot of my planting in large containers also. My friends love this though because I will buy stuff that eventually needs to be transplanted because I don't have room for it over the winter so they wind up with all my plants before winter comes! Some of my favorites-

'Jenny Brook' Wallflower

Lithodora 'grace ward'

Sedum 'Dazzleberry'

Nemesia 'opal innocence' (my all-time favorite-but hard to find)

'white Russian' Super Petunia

'sweet caroline' sweet potato vine

Has anyone ever ordered plants from the Proven Winner website? I'm worried they will arrive dead!

Thanks all and happy gardening!

Holly - I agree with ZenMan that every local nursery I visit has a lot of Proven Winners plants and for future reference, if there is a particular one you want, you can ask them to have it available for you the next spring, if you before they make their order.

I like your list of annuals. I never grow Wallflowers and wonder how they do in a spring like this one, that has been so cold and irratic. - ‘White Russian’ Super Petunia is one of my favorites. Is that Nemesia fragrant? ‘Sweet Caroline’ is another favorite - nice color for a Sweet Potato Vine.

This year, I’m doing a lot of direct sowing …..

Cleome for the first time. I’m not usually attracted to that plant, but I just can’t resist their Violet color.

Sunflowers - ‘Buttercream’, ‘Moulin Rouge’, ‘Strawberry Blonde’ and ‘Green Heart’

Zinnia - ‘Giant Lime’, ‘Giant Wine’, ‘Violet’, and ‘Creamy Yellow’

Cosmos ‘Picotee’

A lot of diff varieties of Alyssum

Gazania ‘Kiss Rose’ started under lights and already has a flower bud

Four O’Clocks White and Magenta - I've failed to have plants from seeds the past few tries, but I soaked them well and put them in moist paper towels in plastic bags and they are already up with true leaves.

Nasturtiums if they will ever sprout

Nicotiana ‘Sweet Scented White’

Evening Scented Stock

Bellis

More than I usually do.

And I may pick up a few too… I really want to find, Angelonia ‘Serenita Pink’, and some white Pentas.

Now if the weather would take a turn toward warmer. :-)