When I sit in my sunniest room, flipping through the various catalogs stacked at my feet, I know I need to be very careful with the plant choices I make. My years of experience have taught me that these choices will have an impact on my garden — and on my time — until the end of the season. With this in mind, I first check the address on the seed catalog to help put a plant’s description in perspective.
For example, when it comes to drought tolerance, I will take the word of a local, Southern, or mid-Atlantic based company over that of a northern-based company. I have learned that many plants may thrive in cooler temperatures, but wither away once the Central Virginia heat rolls in come June.
To avoid this, I carefully read the descriptions of the plants, searching for phrases like extended bloom time, drought tolerance, blooms until frost, mildew-resistant, disease-resistant and self-cleaning — but I don’t make a choice based solely on the catalog description.
For more information, I search the internet using trustworthy .edu and .org sites of horticulture institutions in Zone 7 or Zone 8 on the USDA’s Plant Hardiness map. My favorite reference sites are the Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox from North Carolina State University, the Mt. Cuba Center’s Trial Garden and the Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder.
Some of my favorite annual and perennial plants are colorful plants that bloom all season, are typically drought-tolerant, require minimal deadheading of flowers and are both mildew-resistant (where applicable) and deer-resistant. This shortens the list significantly, but I know my choices will create colorful gardens that are not going to consume any more of my time than necessary. I can start many from seeds, while I purchase others at a locally owned nursery and garden center.
My list of preferred annual bedding plants includes: the Supertunia type Petunia; any variety of million bells (Callibrachoa sp.), all varieties of annual lantana (Lantana camara) or annual vinca (Cartharanthus roseus), or summer snapdragon (Angelonia angustifolia).
I also grow flowering tobacco (Nicotiana alata and N. sylvestris cultivars), annual blue mistflower (Ageratum houstonianum), globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa), dusty miller (Senecio cineraria), annual black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), any type of Cosmos sp., marigolds (Tagetes sp.) and cockscomb (Celosia sp.).
I do grow zinnias (Zinnia sp.), but only varieties from the mildew-resistant Profusion Series and Zahara Series or the “State Fair” cultivar. This year, I am trialing Zinnia ‘Crystal White’ for its mildew resistance. For shady gardens, my criteria cull the list down to going big with the colorful foliage of Persian shield (Strobilanthus atropupurea) interplanted with clown flower (Torenia fournieri).
The annual bedding plants I avoid because they reseed rampantly in my gardens are spider flower (Cleome hassleriana), butter daisy (Melampodium sp.), four-o’clocks (Mirabilis japala, semi-hardy) and larkspur (Consolidago ajacus). There are others but these are the main culprits.

Full-sun herbaceous perennial plants which fulfill all of my criteria — particularly blooming all season long — include hummingbird mint (Agastache “Morello”), Calylophus serrulatus “Prairie Lode,” purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea “Magnus” and “White Swan”), smooth coneflower (Echinacea laviegata), Japanese aster (Kalimeris”‘Blue Star”), American vervain (Verbena hastata) and snow flurry vervain (Verbena canadensis “Snow Flurry”). Be sure to purchase the varieties I have listed to enjoy blooms from spring to fall.
My list of shade-loving herbaceous perennials which check most, if not all, of the boxes includes: bear’s breeches (Acanthus spinosus and A. mollis varieties), Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), and autumn shield fern (Drypoteris erythrosora “Brilliance”), in addition to cranesbill and Geranium varieties “Dreamland,” “Craven” and “‘Mavis Simpson.”
The sedges Carex “Feather Falls” and Carex pensylvanica are good too, as are coral bells (Heuchera villosa and H. americana varieties, particularly “Autumn Bride”). I also enjoy the colorful St. John’s wort (Hypericum calycinum “Brigadoon”) and unique Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum “Ruby Slippers”) in shady areas.

This list may seem restrictive, but following these guidelines will enhance your garden with colorful plants which do not consume more of your time.
Happy Gardening!
Peggy