Ageratum I think it's blue horizons....tall.
Rocket mix snaps. Celosia....there is a cultivar with maroon leaves that is a knock out!
Euphorbia...I think it's albo varigata.
And I love larkspur sprinkled throughout the gardens....a blue accent does so much for so many flowers.
Linda C

Linda listed alot of wonderful cool season annuals. I can offer up HOT season annuals: Salvia farinacea Victoria (blue, spiky, 18 inches), Yellow bird cosmos (primrose yellow. nice foliage. 12 to 18 inches), Zinnia Highlight (exactly like Profusion zinnias but primrose yellow), Zinnia angustifolia Crystal (white. 12 inches. one of the few that blooms all summer and still looks good come fall), Profusion zinnias (rose and white, 12 inches), Gomphrena Purple Buddy (8 inches. magenta). I usually plant my annuals on the front of borders or near the front, therefore the smaller statures. For the best impact, plant at least 5 to 7 (enough to cover about 3 to 7 square feet) of the same kind of plant together before changing to another type. Don't plant one kind in a single straight row. Plant them two to three plants deep and two to five plants wide, then switch to another kind if you want.

I like cosmos, annual flax and zinnias. Larkspur is also lovely with its feathery foliage, but it's usually done by July here in NoVA - might last longer by you.

California poppies come in an ivory white variety that's pretty and the first generation of seedlings even came true, though I don't know how long that would go on. These do very well in hot, dry conditions.

Too bad you don't want orange, because cheiranthus is a sweet, long-blooming plant. It is, however, orange.

Thanks! I am printing this out to take to the nursery.

Another vote for Blue Horizon ageratum - wouldn't be without it. Great for cutting as it isn't squatty like the edging ageratums. I also like cosmos as a taller plant and a later bloomer. And for the very tallest, salvia uliginosa which will go up to 6 feet.

I like to edge with alyssum, and if you just sprinkle the seeds, they are cheap and easy.

Where do you all find Ageratum Blue Horizon? I grew it for a few years and then it disappeared from nurseries in the north and west of Boston area--not that many had it to begin with. I loved it but haven't found it for at least three years. I mean the small plants--not seed.

Aw, I'm sorry to hear that, Ginny. Here in my area of the upper midwest, Blue Horizon is a standard in the nurseries -- even the ones that spring up in supermarket parking lots this time of year.

I see it most often in 4" pots along with the super-fancy coleus and the sweet potato vines; the four-packs are usually the shorter varieties of ageratum.

If you liked the look of the impatiens in the front of your border, you could try vinca (not the vine). They do better in the sun and don't require as much water as the impatiens.

Karen

Actually Larkspur lasts well into July here for me in zone 6 and re-seeds well coming up in late summer-fall to winter over.
I also like re-seeding Sweet Alyssum as fillers which last clean up until the first hard frost; does well in moderately dry hot sun. A light sheering all around when most flowers are fading and they will repeat bloom and get mounds get bigger and fuller each sheering.
Snapdragon (mostly perennial for me) but also re-seeds and is a great filler.
Other great annual fillers I like are:
*Statice sinuata (dwarf types....does sometimes reseed)
*Scabiosa atropurpurea....awesome cut flower blooming mid June thru frost
*Nigella...flowers spring, interesting seed heads, good re-seeder
*Profusion Zinnia

The Vinca Karen is referring to is Catharanthus roseus...Madagascar Vinca/Periwinkle. Blooms late from seed, so needs to be started early or purchased.

I just transplanted a few dozen Ageratum 'blue horizon' among my perennials because this plant was a great success for me last year. A wonderful color with an interesting flower shape; it bloomed all summer until heavy frost.
I hope my local greenhouse continues to sell this plant!

Well, I stopped at a great nursery on my way home from the office but I did not have my list of suggestions that y'all were so kind to provide.

This is what I picked up: Ageratum Artist Purple, Sunbini Sanvitalia and Salvia Oceana Blue. Since I didn't get anything so far that was suggested I guess I will have to drag myself back to the nursery to buy more plants - poor me.

If you still have room, I love the newer hybrid Dianthus (Chinensis x Barbaratus crosses). They bloom all summer like an annual, are sold cheaply like annuals, but 90% of the time come back the next year. Here are some of the varieties I have had good luck with:

"Ideal" series (whites, pinks, rose tones etc.)
"Telstar" series (same colors as Ideal plus reds)
"Bouquet" series (comes in Purple, but also a Pink Rose Magic where the blooms start almost white and age to deep rose pink, so you get lots of color on each plant)

Some specialty vendors have realized that they act like perennials and sell them more expensively, but a big garden center will usually sell them by the 6 pack.

Lots of bang for the buck. And they spread and fill in nicely.

Good luck.

I think there is always room for a Zinnia or two!