Annuals

Annual, OP
This showy, profusely blooming daisy from Australia is a compact flowering plant with attractive, fern-like foliage and masses of brilliant blue daisy-like blooms. The bushy, mounded plants grow to 8-10” tall and blooms profusely through the summer and into the fall. Brachycome flowers are fragrant and attract bees and butterflies. Prefers rich, well-drained soil and tolerates some drought once established. Perfect for containers and hanging baskets in full to part sun

Annual, OP, Bee favorite
Introduced in 1907 heirloom ‘Golden West’ has cup-shaped flowers of sunny yellow with orange centers and petal-backs. This selection of native California poppy is larger flowered but similar to the original that Spanish explorers encountered by the million, calling its native land ‘the land of fire’. Thrives in full sun, needs very little water once established, self-sows, and is very often perennial at mile-high elevation. 8-12” x 6”

Annual, OP, Bee favorite
Deep orange satiny petals with scarlet backs grace this heirloom variety. Burnished four-petaled flowers and sea-green, finely cut leaves look beautiful in masses, perfect with blue cornflowers in any well-drained soil. Native Americans used the sap for toothache, and it’s recommended for its analgesic properties. If bloom slows, cut back for another flush of flowers that continue until a hard freeze. 1936 heirloom. Self-sows and is very often perennial at mile-high elevation. Very drought tolerant & easy, 8-12”x6”.

Annual, OP, Bee-favorite
Mission Bells is a flowering mix of brilliantly colored, saucer-shaped, double or semi-double, orange, yellow, white, red, and pink California Poppies, selections of the California native wildflower. The finely divided foliage is bluish-green, the plants grow fast and bloom all summer long. 8-12”x 6”.

Biennial, OP heirloom
If you like to grow cut flowers for bouquets, this one’s for you! Each plant provides masses of large, vivid purply-blue flowers on 18 to 36” tall scapes, from late spring through mid-summer. And Canterbury Bells are among the longest-lasting of cut-flowers. The only caveat is that you need to wait until their second year of growth to get flowers. First-year plants grow a low rosette of foliage. Definitely worth the wait! Grow in sun or part-shade in fertile, well-drained soil. Planting a group together helps plants support each other without staking, but in windy locations stakes may be needed. Plant 12-15” apart. Cold-hardy to Zone 5.

Annual, OP, Bee, Butterfly, Hummer favorite
Deep carmine pink buds open to lighter pink blossoms, giving an airy appearance because the stamens and pistil protrude several inches beyond the petals. Massed together, they have a charming, old-fashioned look (it is an heirloom variety). Cherry Queen blooms atop sturdy 4’ stalks in summer and fall for up to 12 weeks. If pinched when about 6” tall, each plant will branch out to produce a half dozen or more blooms. Self-sows and tolerates heat and humidity.

Annual, OP, Bee, Butterfly, Hummer fave
Deep rose buds open to lighter pink blossoms, giving an airy appearance because the stamens and pistil protrude several inches beyond the petals. Massed together, they have a charming, old-fashioned look (it is an heirloom variety). Rose Queen blooms in summer and fall for up to 12 weeks. If pinched when about 6 inches tall, each plant will branch out to produce a half dozen or more blooms. Self-sows and tolerates heat and humidity.

Annual, OP, Bee favorite
Its almost steel blue-green foliage, sensational deep blue bracts and small purple flowers make a wonderful impact in the garden or containers. Early in the season the plant resembles a garden pea but as stems lengthen they branch, producing showy blue flower bracts with small purple bells that seem to grow out of the leaves and stems. Very attractive to bees, heat-tolerant through summer and hardy down to at least 23 degrees F. Cool nights in fall produce even deeper blue color. Plants bloom continuously from spring to fall. This self-sowing plant  drops its large pea sized seeds in late summer and early fall and will grow in and around the same patch for years. Easy to grow in sun/part shade, low maintenance. To 18-24”h &w.

Annual, OP, Bumblebee, Butterfly, Hummer favorite
Blue Larkspur is a very hardy annual wildflower, native to S. Europe and Eurasia, but widely distributed in the US as an introduced species. The ¾” blooms can vary in from pale to deep blue and purple, and sturdy branching stems to 4’ or more deliver quick height and sumptuous color over a long season. If spent flowers are removed, it blooms for several months from late April on, and can provide masses of cut-flowers.  Grow in sun, in well-drained soil with some compost added for happiest plants and exuberant bloom. Self-sowing, very drought tolerant, and deer resistant (CAUTION: alkaloids in seeds and aerial parts are toxic to mammals).