PLANTS WITH PURPOSE

Part 3: Annuals

Fast-growing, colourful and inexpensive, annuals give so much for so little. This month, Carol Klein shows us how she uses them at Glebe Cottage, and gives her tips for success

There is something particularly exciting about growing annuals. They are a bright and brilliant crew, it is true, but the real thrill is that they can be sown and reach the height of their performance in the space of just one year – often in just a few months. They are easy, rewarding and liberating too; so cheap and straightforward that you feel you can experiment.

There is such a huge range that everyone can find something that perfectly accords with their aesthetic, whether your taste is for the dramatic with towering tithonia, zingy zinnias and kaleidoscopic cosmos, or something more subtle and ‘country cottage garden’ with larkspur, ammi and sweetly scented stocks.

Once you have planted your shrubs and perennials, you are committed. Though they can be