It's too bad that you cant go just a tad bit shorter than 2 to 3 feet, I had lots of suggestions for you that stays with the same one plant, but with color varations. One suggestions was to go with the Cosmic cosmos--all three colors red, orange and yellow which are totally stunning and vibrant mixed together. And incredibly easy to grow from seed! Another suggestion was Magellan zinnias, which will grow like dwarf hydrangea shrubs smothered with handsized blooms that last for months. I had blooms that did not need be removed for 4 months, I kid you not! And there is just about every color available, coral, ivory, yellow, pink, scarlet, cherry, orange, salmon. I am growing over 400 of these this year. Another suggestion was a mixture of Celosia 'Fresh Look' colors in red, orange,and yellow. Most people hate celosia because they have never had good luck with keeping them going, but the Fresh Looks are very stunning, lush, healthy plants that get just under 2 foot tall, if I remember correctly. Another suggestion was to do Gomphrena, in a mixture of colors. Gomphrena, if plants are kept together and properly spaced will grow to a 2 foot tall airy "shrub" that stands up to rain, drought, etc. I grow the "All Around Purple', 'Strawberry Fields', and other colors from Park Seed, including white, rose and bicolor rose. Dont underestimate those small colored balls! They can REALLY make a huge standout, if they are grown correctly. I second the idea of using Profusion zinnias. These are like the perfect daisy like flower! Also, the blooms did not need removed for 4 months, available in colors: cherry, white, orange, Fire (reddish orange) and Apricot (my favorite). Very easy to grow from seed. You may want to check into the Tidal wave Petunias. If you space them about 2 foot apart, they will spread out like you wouldnt believe and grow to about 2 foot tall. I have never seen a petunia grow like this before last year! Though, the silver would blend right into your house color, but they do make a purple, hot pink, and cherry color that I will be doing this year. Tidals have a massive branching system to them. Do a search on gardenweb and you will find lots of pictures and ideas for them.

... that's more than two years. Though there are exceptions, it would probably be easiest for you to think that plants that go from seed to seed in one year, and do not return the next, are annuals. Completes life cycle & goes from seed to seed & dies after a year = annual Takes 2 years to complete its life cycle = biennial Capable of persisting for 3 growth cycles (years) or more = perennial The geographical location a plant is grown in has nothing to do with whether a plant is a perennial or annual. "... are there any true annuals?" Yes, of course - many thousands of them. Something I wrote a while back that is related & may give you more insight: "First, let's make a differentiation between annual and perennial. Technically, and in most cases, an annual is a plant that germinates, flowers and dies within the period of one annual growth cycle. You can artificially prolong the life of annuals by preventing them from setting seed or by manipulating photoperiod (day length - more specifically, night length is actually the determining factor). Perennials are plants that are capable of living for three or more growth cycles. Trees are perennials. We often mistakenly refer to plants such as Coleus, snapdragon, petunias, or Impatiens as annuals, simply because they will not overwinter in some zones, when in fact, they are all true perennials because they are capable of living for three growth cycles. Annuals have adapted to their reproductive strategy for a number of reasons. 1) The plants die in order that they can translocate biological nutrients and minerals to the seed. 2) They die in order to leave growing space and return nutrients to the soil for the next generation. 3) The plants die so duff can insulate the seeds (with the dead leaves and stalks) against winter's cold. 4) It may be a timing issue to take advantage of a cultural opportunity to set seed early to gain a space advantage or to ride on autumn winds or the coats of migrating animals, etc You might think the physiology of death in annuals would be through simple aging; that is, accumulated mechanical injury or tissue damage causing increased sensitivity to environmental stress, bringing on death. But actually, simple nutrient withdrawal/translocation to seeds from the leaves eventually brings on starvation or some other nutrient deficiency, causing death. That is, the seeds take what nutrients they need by diffusion from the adjacent cells and this causes those cells to become an energy sink, where the nutrients pass from the leaves to the seeds. Hormonal or chemical messengers are released by the developing flower or seed, or the photoperiod influenced leaves themselves, which causes the plant to begin degrading itself and transporting the resulting nutrients out of its cells into the developing seed. In most cases, freezing temps are only the coup de grace, as the plant would have been already in the last stages of it's life cycle, ready to succumb, with or without the aid of Jack Frost." I hope this was also helpful - I don't know what more I can offer. Al

Lary...I personally love the "new gold" lantana...I have them in huge pots on the corners of my patio and they really thrive, are drought tolerate and require little care, except cutting off spent flowers (hummers like it and it attracts beautiful butterflies)...and they are sun loving plants...actually the blooms are bright yellow and will look beautiful along with your red salvia (I'm In MS) Donna

I believe the general rule with container plants is that you should consider conditions in an exposed container to be 2 zones colder than in the ground. Unless boxwood is hardy to zone 4, you should bury it in the ground (pot and all) for the winter or find some other way to protect it. I don't have any experience with celosia. I assume it is a tropical plant but I don't know if it normally lives beyond 1 season. If not, there isn't much point to bringing it in!