My favorite annuals --

Petunias -- especially the small petunias like Picobella and Fantasy that don't need as much maintenance; also Super Cascade

Marigolds -- I love Sunset Giants and Sugar & Spice

Impatiens -- I've had great success with Accent series and Blitz impatiens

Coleus -- Wizard mix is my hand's down favorite at the moment

Less specific -- other favorites include
Morning glory
Hollyhock
Thunbergia (better at climbing than trailing)
Snapdragon
Nasturtium

For a nice, sweet scent and a low-lying filler: alyssum. It comes from pure white to lavender, rosy, to purple. Often will reseed and start up on its own the next year (in Zone 7 anyway.) Very easy to save the seeds on your own for next year. Bees love them.

Lobelia- either trailing in long, colorful tendrils from a mixed hanging basket or standing upright in the front of the garden bed or container. Haven't grown these for a while, but they used to come in light blue, rose, shocking blue and purple.

Yes to impatiens for a shady area- so bright and cheerful. And they spread to cover bare ground pretty easily. Easy to grow too.

Snapdragons are just the best aren't they? I forget they are a very cool weather starter (started out here in February when I'm still hibernating from gardening. ) Either the short or taller ones are all equally enchanting. Don't miss the chance to squeeze the blooms from side to side and have them open their jaws to 'talk' to a toddler or preschooler. They completely believe the flower is opening it's mouth talking to them. Magic.

Definitely agree with the alyssum and lobelia -- the alyssum reseeds even here in the north, and I love the blue shades lobelia comes in.

I forgot that you can make the snapdragon flowers open and close like that, I guess it's been a while since I've grown them! I like to amuse myself in the garden by having an unsuspecting visitor touch a ripe impatiens seed pod and watch their reaction when it pops open (hey, I live in the country and don't get out much!).

Definitely agree with your annual choices, although I don't have much luck with impatiens. And I love morning glories, although I think I started mine too early this year. For some reason, I've lost most of my Flying Saucers. Oh, and zinnias and cosmos! And scarlet flax, yum!

How could I forget zinnias and cosmos? (well, it was late when I was posting!). I love the "Cut and Come Again" variety of zinnias, they truly live up to their name. So many possibilities when it comes to flowers!

Indeed! I tried a bunch of new things this year, too. One that jumps to mind is called "Swan River daisy." Very cute, kind of sprawls on very fine foliage with lots of little lavender daisy-like flowers, about 3/4" across. I think it's a keeper! I need to track down it's "real" name.

I like the ones that self sow
larkspur
balsam
cosmos
bachelors buttons
coreopsis.

the coreopsis has been my favorite the last couple years.

You have to REALLY like cosmos and bachelors buttons 'cause at least around here they'll take over! (Pretty, tho, and I'm guilty of letting them have their way ) I have to beg and plead with coreopsis to get it to grow here.

I think it is because I am to lazy to buy and plant , most of my stuff are perennials . Annuals that do it themselves are like perennials lot less work.
Larkspur

For some reason, the larkspur don't self-seed as well as the cosmos. I do like the two together; throw in a little scarlet flax and I'm a happy camper!

Funny you should post this: I was just weeding today and pulled a 4" sprout that I'm 100% sure was a cosmos which I haven't grown in 2 years. I wish I would have left it!

Woofie, I pull Bachelor Buttons "centaurea montana" like they are weeds because they also reseed and take over here. Nice blue though Forget-me-nots are another thing that are weed-like and keep overwinter way too easily.

My favorite annual is dragon wing red begonia. It's like a begonia on steroids (hee, hee)

The hummers really love Cuphea David Verity and I love the hummers


Black and blue salvia, and Salvia 'Faye Chapelle', Elephant Ears, Caladiums

While they are all annuals in my zone 5b they can be overwintered and brought back out in late spring when it is consistantly 60 degrees at night. Saves big $$$$$$$

Susan, how do you keep them from being eaten alive by bugs when you bring them indoors?

I have two methods, the expensive method, repot in fresh potting soil or I bring them into a screened porch about two weeks before bringing in and spray the foliage good with an all natural insecticide. Then I scratch in a systemic insecticide into the soil. I repeat the following week. Keep on the porch for a week then bring in. Yes...there are some knats, ants, spiders, rolly pollys, but not an awful infestation. I also throw a Terro disk for ants on top the soil. They eat and share with the other ants and pretty much kills em dead. I put my containers in the (unfinished) basement where there are no pets. If I still see bugs I add more systemic and water it in after the first two weeks of being in the house. By spring the systemic is worn off and won't affect the beneficials when I put the containers back outside. Most of the tropicals just go dormant anyway and need little care or water in winter. Plants such as dragon wing red begonia and euphorbia diamond frost will bloom all winter long if treated as a house plant.

Those of us in the winter zones do need our flowering plants! I always have geraniums inside in the winter, they flower like crazy, make one heck of a mess, then get a trim and go back out in the summer. What do people in the south do? Maybe bring plants into the A.C. for the summer that won't survive the heat?

So, Susan, do you have a favored systemic? See, I'm intimidated by the labels that tell you not to use the darn stuff more often than every 6 months! And not everything I want to overwinter likes being repotted, so I really like your method! And what are Terro disks? We have an awful problem with ants this year!

Extremely Important you follow directions on insecticides including protective wear

I have ferti lome Systemic Insecticidee Granules, can't seem to find it sold in one 7oz bottle but this is what it looks like http://www.lemhilumber.com/Fer...

Hi Yeild brand
http://www.fertilome.com/produ...

Ants...watch the video. This is the product my grandma used over 60 years ago and still works today. In March I get the invasion and every year I put out the terro.
http://www.terro.com/products....

Thanks for the info! That fertilome sounds like just the thing I need! Now, do I have this right: first you use the topical insecticide, then scratch in the systemic, then repeat the topical? Or are you saying to repeat the systemic? Not quite clear to me.

I also have used terro (for ants) for several years with good results,