Kickstart the 2021 Gardening Season With a Tailored Selection of Annuals and Perennials

It’s time to start turning those winter garden designs into actual garden planting. When choosing your plants, be sure to select plants that are well suited to the climate here in Marquette and fill your beds with a mix of annuals and perennials.  Annuals allow you to adjust your overall garden design from year to year, while the perennials provide an established framework. Let’s take a closer look at the difference between these two types of plants.

Annuals

Annual plants go through germinating, flowering, seeding, and then dying in one season. In between, these flowers provide an abundance of flowers. Deadheading many varieties of annuals can encourage the plants to flower up until the first frost. Most annuals will need to be replanted the following spring, although some types will self-sow their own seeds, providing you with new plants next year. Annuals can be subdivided into three separate groups:

• Hardy/cool-season annuals that thrive in cooler temperatures typical of early spring and fall. These plants can tolerate a light frost without added protection.

• Half-hardy annuals are the most common due to their ability to handle a wide range of temperatures, including early spring and fall weather.

• Tender/warm season annual plants are native to tropical and subtropical regions and are not tolerant of colder weather. Plants such as petunias and marigolds should be planted once the weather is warmer, in late spring.

Annuals are a great way to experiment with new plants or different colors in your garden design, fill in gaps in an established garden, and since they mature faster, get a little bit of immediate gratification for your gardening work.

Perennials

Perennials are cold-hardy plants that will come back again in the spring. You can find some long-blooming and reblooming perennials, but most tend to bloom for only one season a year. Although perennials will last a long time, they do not necessarily live forever. Some plants have a lifetime of only three to five years.  Keep in mind that while some plants thrive with little attention, many perennials will require regular dividing and pruning to remain healthy.

Perennials tend to cost more than purchasing annuals, but they return year after year, making it a good investment. Choosing perennials native to the Marquette area also helps create a welcoming habitat for wildlife and pollinators.

At Flower Works, our greenhouse is filled with a selection of flowers and plants specifically chosen for their ability to thrive in the Marquette climate. Visit our greenhouse in downtown Marquette or contact us at (906)- 273-1335 to start your spring gardening.