Annual flowers to brighten up your garden

Colorful, deer-resistant annuals

Colorful, deer-resistant annuals are a great way to fill your summer gardens and vases. While deer will eat anything if they're really hungry, they have preferences. Some plants aren't too keen on them, especially plants with hairy or fuzzy leaves or strong scents. The following annual flowering and evergreen plants belong to this deer-resistant category (a few are perennials in warmer climates but are usually grown as annuals). Pick a few to fill your beds and container gardens with non-stop color from spring to fall and let the deer go elsewhere for dinner.

1. Calendula

Sometimes called pot marigold, calendula produces cheerful flowers in shades of cream, yellow and orange. Although the flowers are edible—they're a colorful addition to summer salads—deer don't like the scent of the foliage, so they rarely bother the plant. Short varieties can be planted along walkways, at the front of a bed or in a mixed container. Tall varieties make attractive cut flowers.

2. Spider flower

Pink, purple or white spider flowers attract lots of pollinators, but deer hate them. Their large flower clusters give the back of the bed a tropical look. Flowers continue to form at the top of the stems, and the older flowers are followed by short seed pods that give the plant an interesting spidery appearance. They often reseed themselves when conditions are favorable.

3. Ageratum

The fuzzy blooms of ageratum, sometimes called floss flower, add soft texture to any planting. These non-stop blooming annuals come in purple, pink and white. They are easy to grow, but constant moisture is important - they will wilt if allowed to dry out. While many selections are compact and suitable for border edging, others are taller and make beautiful cut flowers.

4. Annual salvias

There are many annual varieties of salvia that come in a variety of flower colors, including white, pink, red, purple and blue, all of which attract pollinators to your garden. Flowers appear in densely packed upright spikes throughout summer. They are particularly striking when planted in masses or drifts. Small selections add a bold pop of color to container gardens.

5. Flowering tobacco

Flowering tobacco, also known as jasmine tobacco, bears fragrant white, pink, red, or purple flowers on tall erect stems. Although its jasmine-like scent is pleasant, avoid planting near nightshade vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers, as they are closely related and susceptible to the same viruses.

6. Snapdragon

Snapdragons thrive in the cool weather of spring and fall, producing flowering stems that support small flowers in white, pink, yellow, red, orange and purple. Each flower resembles a small dragon's head. These flowers add a colorful vertical accent to a border and are wonderful for cutting. When temperatures rise in summer, these deer-resistant annuals pause from blooming, but bloom again when temperatures cool in fall.

7. Angelonia

Angelonia's small pink, purple, or white flowers cover the shrub from early summer through fall. The flowers, which are often bi-colored, resemble miniature snapdragons. While it thrives with regular moisture, Angelonia can withstand both heat and drought periods. It is an excellent choice for container gardens or as an edging for beds.

8. Globe amaranth

Globe amaranth is a worry-free deer-resistant annual that produces perky round flower heads non-stop all summer long. It attracts butterflies, is drought tolerant, and makes a colorful addition to borders and container gardens. Flowers are best cut fresh and dried. For a bushier habit, pinch out new growth on young plants.

9. Wishbone flower

A perennial in its native tropical regions, the wispone flower is usually grown as an annual. There are upright selections that make neat mounds in mixed beds, and delightful trailing varieties that grow out of container gardens or hanging baskets. Their beautiful pink, purple, blue or white flowers provide a constant display throughout the summer. It's a real bloomer