Forever Young Magazine

May 2007
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Section: Home & Garden

Planting At Last!
By Carol Ann Harlos

Carol Ann Harlos

The soil is finally warming up so we can plant our annuals. This month is the time to think about choosing annuals to fill in empty spaces in our gardens and to provide the garden with color later in the season when many perennials are finished blooming. Don’t disappoint yourself by planting annuals that cannot tolerate frost. The last frost date for the spring is usually given as an average. In Western New York it is about May 15 but in recent years we have had a killing frost as late as May 20.

In early- to mid-May it is usually safe to plant snapdragons, calceolaria, stock, larkspur and petunias, but I still prefer to wait until after the last frost date. Some young annuals will not tolerate cold air and simply sit in cool soil refusing to grow. Examples are nasturtiums, marigolds, zinnias and many vegetables, especially tomatoes.

Consider using sunflowers to fill in garden spaces. In North and South America sunflowers date back at least 3,000 years. They are now important as a cut flower, for their oil, and for their seeds. Sunflowers are now planted in huge fields in many countries including Israel, Russia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, France and Italy. I have memories of fields of sunflowers in Tuscany as far as I could see — an incredible sight!

Most of the seeds you purchase are from hybridized sunflowers. Some names include Tiger’s Eye sunflowers, Sunbeam, Russian Mammoth, Lion’s Mane, and Gloriosa sunflowers. They vary in height from about two feet to over six feet. Some are freely branching types; others are single stemmed. Some produce single blossoms, others double blossoms. The colors range from pastel yellow to vibrant yellows to orange to maroon. I like to directly sow sunflower seeds where the plants are to grow as they don’t like to be held too long in small containers. You could start the seeds indoors in early May to give them a head start. This is where gardening gets very interesting — some sunflowers seem to bloom earlier and at a smaller size when started early. And yes sunflowers are somewhat affected by the sun until the flowers reach a large enough size.

Consider planting spider flowers (Cleome) which will reseed, strawflowers which are everlasting, lisianthus for beautiful bouquets, globe amaranth (gomphrena) which hold their color well after drying, love lies bleeding (amaranthus) which calls attention to your garden, celosia notable for the different types of plumes, or calendula (also called pot marigold). If you purchase plants check the labels to see if your annuals need any special conditions. For example coleus and wax begonias do beautifully in shade but some varieties also do well in sun. Other partial shade annuals include ageratum, salvias, nicotiana (flowering tobacco), pansies, lobelia and browallia. Verbena bonariensis which grows in full sun will fill in any spaces, will reach a height of up to five feet, and provide you with lavender flowers late in the season.Some annuals won’t flower in rich soil. Examples are cosmos and the nasturtiums.

Now get out into your garden and start planting. You will be so happy later in the season. I love hearing from you: carolann2@adelphia.net.

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