What I love about annuals is that they only live for one summer. That means that every gardening season I get to paint the canvas differently.
This summer I “painted” too much yellow. I fell in love with ‘Profusion Double Yellow’ zinnias a couple of years ago because they bloom for months and months, and that bright-yellow color glows in my flowerbeds. But in May when I planted my annuals, I wasn’t paying close attention because it turns out I put those yellow zinnias EVERYWHERE.
I also overdid it with another favorite–‘Moonstruck Yellow’ marigolds. Everywhere I look I see yellow, yellow and more yellow. Next year I’ll be sure to plant more of my favorite reds and purples.
That will include the 40-inch-tall ‘Benary’s Deep Red Zinnia’. I planted some this year, but they were battered by storms and picked apart by Japanese Beetles and goldfinches. They hung in there, but the color display wasn’t as noticeable this year:
I also adore Aster ‘Milady Deep Blue’. This cultivar can be harder to find, but it’s worth the search. I need to remember to plant more of these:
I like planting Milady asters with the similarly-sized ‘Dreamland Red’ zinnias:
In a refreshing change of foliage color, Celosia ‘Chinatown’ supports its scarlet-red flowers with dark, blackish-red foliage:
And of course I have many non-yellow zinnias to choose from. The hummingbirds, butterflies and bees love them, and they bloom right up until frost.
