| Choosing Annuals
Due to our relatively short growing season, we rely on annuals we buy at local nurseries to perk up our gardens early in the season. We usually buy marigold, pansies, petunias, and impatiens. But we also plant lots from seed so we have colour later and we have lots of flowers for cutting. The standbys we usually grow from seed include cosmos, bachelor's buttons, marigolds, sunflowers, poppies, and a patch of wildflowers (from a seed mix). 
Here are some of our tips on choosing annuals:  Determine if you want to start your annuals from seed or from established plants. Of course, if you want flowers fast, the only way is to buy plants. This will cost you and you won't have as much choice as you would if you grew your own. If you can grow your own, the seed catalogues have so much to choose from.
So, you're at the nursery. You couldn't grow your own annuals, for whatever reason. But now what? There are trays and trays of flowers in front of you. How do you get your best buy for your dollar? Choose short, stocky plants that don't have many flowers on them. These will last longer than leggy plants with roots coming out the bottom of the pot.
Read those little plant tags or labels carefully. Choose plants that meet what your garden offers in terms of sun, drainage, and soil conditions. It really does matter.
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Planting Annuals
Prepare your flower bed or flower pot by adding a little organic fertilizer. Sometimes a little compost worked into the soil of your flower bed is also worth your time.
This may hurt. Bite your lip and pinch off any flowers on the plant! This is a good thing. It will give the plant energy to become well established in its new home and will produce more flowers in the long run.
Plant annuals closer than what the label recommends. Those distances are recommended for maximum plant health, not for the best visual effect.
Plant in groups as they'll look far better than planted spread out.
Mulch around your new plants with grass clippings, straw, or compost.
Keep your annuals well-watered. Water them deeply about once a week rather than giving them just a little water now and then.
Deadhead your annuals regularly by pinching off spent blooms. This keeps them looking tidy and it encourages more blooms.
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