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Browse Plants

Narrowed By:Type: Annuals+ Characteristics: Attracts Butterflies+ Spread: 1 - 3 ft, Over 30 ft
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 listings   Sort By: Sort
Bidens aristosa Bidens aristosa
(Tickseed sunflower, Long-bracted beggar-ticks)
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This fast-growing annual of the Midwestern wet meadows grows to 4 or 5 feet tall. Hundreds of 2-inch golden daisies with buttery tips and dark, fringed eyes smother fine foliage in late summer. Be cautioned, this plant generously self-sows, and is on Kentucky's invasive plant list.

Borago officinalis Borago officinalis
(Borage, Cool-tankard, Talewort)
(1 user review)

These fast-growing plants with succulent, bristly stems are old-fashioned favorites of the border or herb garden. They self sow to produce a succession throughout the season of new plants and blossoms. The beautiful flowers are edible and are particularly bequiling on salad or floating in summer drinks. 

Calendula officinalis Calendula officinalis
(Pot marigold)
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Pot marigolds bloom most of the summer, but are intolerant of intense heat and may die out during periods of hot humid weather. Their branching stems are covered with simple, alternate leaves and they produce large flowers in different hues of yellow and orange in the summer.

Chamaecrista fasciculata Chamaecrista fasciculata
(Partridge pea, Senna, Sleeping plant)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This colorful annual legume bears attractive yellow flowers that have reddish-purple spots at their base. The compound, feathery leaves look like those of sensitive plant. Fruit is contained in a pea pod, which adds additional garden interest and may attract birds.

Cosmos bipinnatus cvs. Cosmos bipinnatus cvs.
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Cosmos are branching annuals with ferny foliage and pink, crimson, or white flowers that work well in the back of a border. Although introduced in 1799, cosmos did not beome popular for the garden or as the subject of breeding efforts until the early 1900s. The rest is now history. The variety 'Sensation' won the All-American Selection Award of Merit in 1936 for its clear colors of pink and white, on early-blooming, 3- to 4-foot-tall plants. 'Purity' is the glistening white form of cosmos in the 'Sensation' series. 'Sea Shells' has quilled florets. The Sonata Series cultivars are dwarf plants only growing to about a foot or two tall.

Delphinium 'Bluebird' Delphinium 'Bluebird'
(3 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

'Blue Bird' is a Pacific Hybrid delphinium grown as an annual or biennial. Its mid-blue flowers have white centers. The flowers are large but short-lived and bloom on tall stems from early summer to midsummer. Grow at the back of a border or in the middle of an island bed. There is nothing quite like delphiniums in the garden.

Dianthus × allwoodii Dianthus × allwoodii
(Allwood hybrids)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

These modern hybrids bear salmon-pink blossoms ('Doris' has scarlet in the center) and bloom freely with moderate fragrance.

Heliotropium arborescens 'Marine' Heliotropium arborescens 'Marine'
(Heliotrope, Cherry pie)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

'Marine' heliotrope has a compact form with broadly oval to lance-shaped, wrinkled leaves tinged with purple. In summer, it bears a profusion of fragrant deep violet-blue flowerheads up to 6 inches across.

Heliotropium arborescens cvs. Heliotropium arborescens cvs.
(Heliotrope, Cherry pie)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Heliotrope has a compact form with broadly oval to lance-shaped, wrinkled leaves tinged with purple. In summer, it bears a profusion of deep violet-blue or lavender-blue flowerheads up to 6 inches across. Cultivars vary in height as well as bloom fragrance and color.

Nicotiana alata 'Lime Green' Nicotiana alata 'Lime Green'
(Flowering tobacco)
(2 user reviews)

The yellow-green trumpet-shaped flowers of 'Lime Green' flowering tobacco mix well with many other colors in the garden. Growing to 2 or 3 feet tall, this annual's flowers attract hummingbirds and are fragrant at night.

Osteospermum Crescendo™ Primrose Osteospermum Crescendo™ Primrose
(Crescendo™ Primrose African daisy)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This African daisy blooms nonstop from early June through October, even in extreme heat. It has an attractive mounding form and is an ideal candidate for pots and baskets. Its daisy flowers are pale yellow with maroon centers.

PetuniaSweetunia® Soft Pink Morning Petunia Sweetunia® Soft Pink Morning
(Sweetunia® Soft Pink Morning petunia)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This spectacular selection shines brightly in the most brutal of circumstances. Month after month, this petunia spills oodles of white- and yellow-throated, pink-rimmed blooms elegantly over bed edges.

no image available Rudbeckia triloba
(Brown-eyed Susan, Coneflower)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This biennial makes a superb, self-sown companion in a mixed border or wild garden. It reaches up to 5 feet tall and exhibits a long-lasting, airy spray of small, daisy-like blossoms in yellow with purple-black centers. The flowers are beautiful in late summer bouquets. 

Tithonia rotundifolia 'Torch' Tithonia rotundifolia 'Torch'
(Mexican sunflower)
(1 user review)

'Torch' is a quick-growing annual that produces vivid red or orange-red dahlia-like flowers from mid-summer on. Its leaves are somewhat attractive, being dark green and lobed. Plants can reach up to 6 feet tall and 2 feet wide in just a few months. 

Tropaeolum majus 'Mahogany Jewel' Tropaeolum majus 'Mahogany Jewel'
(Indian cress, Nasturtium)
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This old-fashioned cultivar of the species has a mounding habit and grows 12-18 inches tall and wide. In summer and fall, it bears mahogany red, single to semi-double flowers. The rounded leaves and spurred, five-petaled flowers are edible.

Zinnia elegans Zinnia elegans
(Zinnia)
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This upright, 30-inch-tall, bushy annual cloaks itself all summer in purple blossoms up to 2 inches across. But more important, it is the forebear of scores of varieties that can be found in almost any place you can buy seeds. There's the Whirligig Series, the California Giants, the Profusion Series, the State Fair Series—the list goes on and on.

Zinnia Profusion Series Zinnia Profusion Series
(2 user reviews)

The needlelike leaves of these Profusion Series zinnas lend a soft textural feel that contrasts nicely with the glowing hot colors of the flowers. The vibrant flowers are about 2 inches in diameter, and the plants grow to just 12 to 15 inches tall and wide. Use them en masse in borders and beds, or plant them in containers. -Julia Jones, Designing with annuals, Fine Gardening issue #120


Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 listings   Sort By: Sort