Gardening

Annuals

Annual plants have a life cycle spanning just one year or season, but gardeners often incorporate annuals into their designs because they flower quickly and adapt well to a variety of light and soil conditions. Available in every color of the rainbow, annuals work well in containers, in window boxes, and as filler for open spaces in large flower beds.

Annuals also offer great flexibility, allowing gardeners to experiment with different color and height combinations each year. Try lining a walkway with blocks of a single color, or fill a bed with a group of complimentary blooms. Climbing annuals can be also be paired with vines to cover a trellis, archway, or creep up deck beams.

Some flowering plants that are perennial in warmer climates may be considered annual in the Black Hills, including some varieties of rudbeckia and snapdragons. Browse our inventory of annual plants and flowers below, and then stop by the Greenhouse to pick up annuals for your home.

Featured annual:

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia ‘Indian summer’)

Producing large golden blooms like those of classic black-eyed Susans, Indian Summer differs primarily with flowers that are fuller and carried on well-branched stems. Also a bit taller than the traditional black-eyed Susan, Indian Summer anchors the back of a mixed border with a dependable wealth of blossoms that few plants can challenge. This annual is excellent for cutting too.