Whether you prefer fresh or dried flowers, flowers for shade or sun, or flowers for containers or the garden, annuals can’t be beat. However, not all annuities are equal. Some do best in the Pacific Northwest or South, and then some plants thrive in the Northeastern region of the United States. What are some of the top annuals for gardening in New England? Read on to learn about the flowering plants of the Northeast, especially New England annuals.
About Annuals
Perennials are long-lived and give year after year, but annuals will always be a favorite in a flower lover’s garden. Fast-growing annuals are brightly colored, versatile, and often less expensive and adaptable for planting over spring-blooming bulbs.
Low-maintenance annuals come in a range of colors, textures, sizes, and sun exposures. Some like full sun while others thrive in shade to partial shade. There really is an annual for just about any environment in your landscape.
Annuals for Northeastern Gardens
The Northeastern United States is known for its harsh winters, but once winter sets in, gardeners look for some bright color in the form of long-blooming annuals. Fortunately, the Northeast is fairly mild from spring through fall, which gives the gardener a great selection of annuals.
Types of annuals for the Northeast
Some annuals are easy to grow in most climates. These include snapdragons, pansies, marigolds, geraniums, and impatiens. Just as these annuals will thrive in the Pacific Northwest, they are also popular choices for Northeast gardeners.
Other common flowers that will thrive in a New England garden include dahlias, pasteuriums, petunias, and zinnias.
If you’re more interested in planting in a specific area of your garden – like a shady spot or a sunny hillside – we’ve got you covered.
Sun-loving annuals for New England
While the common annuals above thrive in full sun, so do angelonia, biden, blanket flower, daisy flower, string flower, gazania, lantana, Mexican heather, phlox, purslane, salvia, straw flower, sweet alyssum and verbena.
Annuals that will do well in New England include dusty miller, black or ornamental black pepper, and sweet potato vine.
The lawn completes the look by adding some height and movement. Feather grass, fountain grass, and golden millet grass are some of the grasses found in the northeast.
Annuals for Shade to Part Shade
There are many shade-loving annuals for the Northeast garden. For example, begonia, proovalia, flowering tobacco, foxglove, fuchsia, impenetrable, lobelia, impenetrable New Guinea, twinspur, and wishbone flowers are all annuals suitable for this climate.
Native plants for Northeastern gardens include bloodsucking leaf, Joseph’s coat, coleus, fancy lead caladium, perilla, rex begonia, and shamrock. Thinking of adding some shade-loving herbs? Try an ornamental sedge or millet plant in a shady New England garden.
Deer Resistant Annuals Northeast
Deer are usually an annual favorite. They are rich and tender – not prickly or pungent. This fact may seem like there is no place for annuals in a deer-watching garden, but that is not the case.
Cosmos, nasturtium, and marigolds are a few common annuals that deer often overlook. The annuals floss flower, heliotrope, larkspur, nicotiana, painted tongue, and spider flower are also effective deer repellents in the northeast.