my favorites are probably coleus, impatiens, salvia (the common red one you find in big box stores)and edging begonias. I don't use seed though. These plants are pretty easy to find and not costly if bought in flats. But don't go by me... I'm too lazy for seeds.

I sow sunflower seeds directly into the garden every two weeks starting as soon as the last frost. That way I get flowers throughout July and August.

Kate

thank you so much i will have to try the sunflower's

zinnias for seeds and delphiniums for plants!

cosmos. I just toss the seeds out on top of the mulch and then I get cosmos flowers. Super easy.

I deadhead my zinnias, cosmos, and tithonias every year, then toss them around the next year, it's great. I have Dahlenberg Daisies that reseed themselves everywhere. I used to do sunflowers, (love them) but between the deer and the squirrels it's such a frustration, they just won't leave them alone. As for live bedding plants, I like regular old wax begonias for planters in the shade - in the spring I like violas. Haven't tried anything for the winter, it really has been very cold here. I don't do too much with live-plant annual bedding plants.

My favorite annuals are the kind that come back without any work on my part.
This year its: blue salvia, black and blue salvia, gaura "Whirling Butterfles" and gaillardia.

Love Florida "annuals" :-) Saves a lot of money and work.

My favorites - easy and reseed well:

Gaillardia
Annual Phlox (Phlox drummondii)
Salvia coccinea
Cosmos
Alyssum
Impatients for shady areas
Marigolds
Verbena (Tampa Verbena especially )

when do u plant the seeds

thanks the_seedboy

How about some pictures? I'm a "late-bloomer" to the flowers and would like to get feel for what will work from pictures. I'm tring cosmos this year for the first time but I'm not really impressed, large thin stalks that fall over, with very small flowers...feel like I should have stayed with the tried and true zinnias, but these seeds were bought online with no idea if they would work in Florida or not. I love the way Alyssum looks and hope it will work, but again, I sure would like to see some pictures.

Tom

Before looking at the pic, keep in mind that I think my alyssum is at the end of its life so it is looking scraggly and most of the flowers are gone. It is in the pot behind the beginning growth of the lilies. Sadly, this is the only pic I could find of it. I think it is camera shy.

I had planted the seeds at the wrong time, during the summer and these were my first seeds and my first alyssum. And frankly I don't have a good track record with plants. The ones I put in the ground never came up but the ones in the pot did but only after many months. That can't have been good for them.

Their fragrance wasn't strong but it was wonderful. If I plant some more later this year, I think I'll put them in a hanging basket or somewhere I don't have to bend to smell them.

Orange Cosmos

Another orange cosmos
In full sun and good rich soil they get very tall and huge, I wish I had a picture of one of them "orange cosmos trees" :)

Annual Phlox
This year I have whites, and different shades of pink. I originally moved a few plants we found growing along a road (when in season, you will see masses of them near highways). The plants flowered and disappeared..And for a few years now, they reseed and bloom in large clumps

Salvia
Same thing, reseeds. I recieved one plant at a swap two years ago and since then, my yard is covered in them :) They are nice plants to have, I really like them - and they do live for more that a year it seems.

Blanket flower
Same story, found a plant growing by a road, moved it to my yard and now I have masses of them. They tolerate draught and lots of sun, and poor soils - but boy do they love good soil. In my rose garden, I have to weed them out so they do not eat the roses! The plant gets big AND the flowers are much larger in diameter

I do not have a picture of Alyssum . It likes colder weather, or at least does not like the heat as much. It is very popular in Russia in the summer, so very different climate there! In the cooler months, it grows really well, so I would start seeds around that time. Same goes for Calendulas and the pink and white cosmos, they seem to like less heat

Marigolds, I start whenever :) They reseed once they are done
Here is a picture of Salvia (perennial) with marigolds

I start usually in March in the little round seed starter pellets. This year I started them later about 3 weeks ago and just put them in the ground a week ago. I also started some seed in the ground and they are doing well. I love the Orange Klondke Cosmos, Cut and Come Again Zinnias, also some Red Marigolds seeds that someone gave me, State Fair Zinnias and Pinwheels Zinnias. I also plant Mexican Sunflower Tithonia, and this year I tried some shorter Sunflower seeds. My salvias reseed themselves all over the place. I have the Tropical Red, Coral Nymph, and White. These are really perennials, they just slow down during the winter and I did bring them in during the cold weather as the original plants are in pots. I do deadhead and scatter these seeds as well.

One of my favorites to start from seed are nasturtiums. I direct seed in the garden when I am planting my warm season crops.

This one is from last season

And this season I have it planted with peppers

{{gwi:44477}}

Silvia

My favorite annuals are impatients (for shady areas) and the marigolds (sunny areas). These are the only "annuals" I regularly grow come to think about it.

Thanks for the pictures everyone, helps me quite a bit.

Seedboy, I hope you don't mind, I didn't mean to hijack your thread...flower newbie here (other than zinnias) :-) :-(

Tom