giant annuals in my garden

I only started growing my own annuals from seed a few years ago.  I think I started to get greedy - I could have so many more flowers for so cheap!!  Greedy, but true. And annuals are a great way to fill space while you're waiting for shrubs and perennials to mature.  But by this time of year I'm always overwhelmed with the giant annuals I grow (see the annuals are taking over 2008 and too full 2009).  I must make a mental note for next year to grow some smaller things, because my perennials and shrubs are getting bigger now and I'm running out of room for the big stuff.  Or else I just need to plant less of it...

Nicotiana sylvestris has been easy to grow for me and gets up to 6 ft tall in my garden!  Every year after I plant it, it takes a while to start growing and I think I'm not going to bother growing it again. But then it starts flowering and the scent overwhelms me! So sweet! The big leaves sure grab your attention as well.  I don't really have space but maybe I should make some?

The lavatera 'Silver Cup' is a must-have.  It is getting huge and bush-like but I just keep cutting it back and making bouquets with it.  Love it, love it, love it!

The verbena bonariensis can be seen here in front of purple monkshood, pink lavatera, purple liatris and white echinacea.  This is called a "see-through plant" because it is so wiry that even though it is tall, you can plant it in front of shorter things and can see through to the things behind.  It self-seeds a little bit but I always start some from seed to make sure I have lots in the garden.  It's also a butterfly magnet.

I already mentioned that my castor bean isn't as big as usual this year, but I think that is due to location.  I also start this from seed every year.  I never really know where I'm going to put it but I jam it in there anyway.  And I'm supposed to be a garden designer?

Here's a cloud of borage in the bottom right of this photo.  There are several such "clouds" in my garden.  This plant mysteriously appeared in my garden one year, and once you have borage you will have it forever.  I do love it though (and so do the bees!) and it is easy to pull up and remove any plants you don't want.  This year I started resorting to giving some away.

And finally, there's cardoon, which I wrote about here.

Comments

[Ella]

Our Calgary garden: 2009. A bit overgrown this year - only perenials. Would like more anuals next year.
http://www.calgaryweb.com/ALBUM_JUNE07_2009/album/index.html
Most started from seeds. The same with anuals
but to little space left for those.

[Cassandra]

That's interesting about your borage, it mysteriously appeared in my garden this year too. I noticed my (non-gardening) neighbours also have some on their side of the fence. Do birds pass the seeds around?

I'm not sure that I want it around forever, but I do like free plants. If it comes up again next year, maybe I can just transplant it to a better spot.

[Crystal]

Love you lavatera! I planted both the pink and white but lost them all to aphids recently. I'm going to give them another shot next year though, they were gorgeous!