Colorful Summer Combinations for Annual Flowers for Borders

An annual flower is one where the plant germinates, flowers, and seeds in a single season. Remember to choose annuals that are suitable for soil conditions, sun exposure and water availability on the site.

Attractive Border Color Combinations

One concept for a noticeable border is to arrange two to three different types of flowers that vary in height. One outstanding choice is the dusty miller, sweet white alyssum and pink petunias combination. The dusty miller, with its silver-gray tones, grows in the back while the white and pink flowers grow low in front and sooth the eye.

For a more eye-popping and hot color sceme, choose a combination of red and yellow celosia. A third choice is the nautical theme of annual white phlox and blue salvia. This is more calming to the eye.

A Contemporary and Elegant Border

A combination of cream, white, and ivory annuals brings a fashionable yet elegant statement to a border. Consider two or three diverse varieties of lilies, begonias, roses, white daisies, tulips, stock and impatiens to a border.

Eye-Popping Plants in Mass

Another easy border choice for annuals is a one where all the flowers are the same vibrant color. Consider proven winners such as impatiens or petunias.

Impatiens bloom all-summer long and are very dramatic in a mass planting of orange, violet or pink. The floribunda petunias sport compact growth so they do well in mass plantings. Consider shades of bright yellow, red or blue for a dramatic effect.

Daylilies grow as an annual and are striking when a gardener chooses the bright red or sunny yellow flowers.

Fragrant Annuals

Heliotrope offers beautiful, deep-purple flowers with an old-fashioned scent. Sweet peas can be overpowering in mass with their scent, but a border, tucked low in front of other summer annuals will give the right amount of fragrance.

Try the stock plant. It blooms in pink, purple or white and offers a spicy scent. Sweet alyssum provides a vanilla-type fragrance to the garden. It blooms in white, purple or lavender.

Wave the Flag

In some countries, around patriotic holidays, gardeners plant borders with flag-colored themes. In the United States or France, consider planting a border of annuals of red and white begonias and blue lobelia.

Borders Provide Structure

Edging the garden with a flower border brings definition, color and sometimes fragrance to the garden. Summer annuals offer good choices for borders. On a year-round basis, consider a border of low-maintenance perennials that are colorful, and attract birds, bees and butterflies.