yeah.. those pix were of a garden that was 10 years old.. and most likely from a person who 'collects' plants ...

keep adding perennials .. things prosper.. things die .... and as you think.. use annuals to fill .. until the mass is accomplished ...

allysum
pansy
petunia
the list really is endless ... just buy a couple flats of mixed cell packs... that is how we all started ...

whatever the local peeps sell ... give it a go ... only you can discover what will work in that level of sun/shade ...

and in the fall.. consider some bulbs for early spring flower ...

and consider adding a layer of compost once or twice a year.. to start working on that clay soil ...

and.. if you can find a local garden club.. that is a great way.. to see what is grown in your area ....

good luck

ken

ps: it doenst matter what is recommended .. if they dont sell it locally .... if you are thinking seed.. you are really complicating life .. for a newbie ... that will come in the future ...

You are right the best way to grow a perennial garden is to plant annuals among the perennials until the perennials get established.

There are a few annuals that not only give good color but drop their seeds in fall and will grow in spring. After the plants are 3 inches or so tall you can dig them up and plant them around your beds.

Calendula--you can buy the seeds and plant them when the frost is coming out of the ground. They won't freeze easily with a few degrees of frost. This is a very old plant and you can collect the seed in fall or let ithem drop their seed.

Pansies, poppies and alyssum are others that drop their seed to regrow another year.

Marigolds and zinnias are fast growers and can be direct sown after danger of frost is past. They will bloom about a month after they are planted.

A flat of mixed annuals will help to fill in spaces too.

Fall bulbs will give you some nice spring color. I tend to plant mine in groups of 5 or 6 for impact. Asters will give you fall color. You can buy them as annuals or perennials.

If you want a fast growing perennial dazzler try an everblooming daylily. They will bloom with a big flush of flowers and if you cut off all the seed pods will bloom again about a month later.

There are also some really unusual short sunflowers that would work as fillers.

To get that full instant perennial garden look you have to buy quite a few of each variety that you plant instead of just one of each.

One thing I used to do when I was gardening for the sun was to buy the pot that had the most plants in it regardless of what the foliage or blooms looked like at the moment. I took it home then divided it into as many individual plants as possible before planting them. Doing that will give you a fuller look faster. It is especialy easy to do with a daylily.

We really should have your general location to be able to better help you.

I suspect that your "somewhat moist" clay soil presents a problem. I grow in a very hard clay soil, but it drains well and is not irrigated. I haven't found anything that doesn't thrive.

What rhizo said....make improving your soil job #1....Try to mix up your flower shapes too. Summer flowers tend to be heavy on "daisies". Use other forms too.

Cleome
Zinnias (elegans for taller plants, Profusions or Zaharas for front of the border)
Salvias: Plant them in masses for greatest color impact. Victoria is dead easy, blooms all summer, and is gorgeous

Other than the suggestions already listed here you might want to list some of the perennials you have planted. Even in their first year you should be seeing something exciting happening with some of them.... if not, you might be missing something, maybe a lack of fertilizer or a poky perennial variety.

-for example if you planted a pretty pot of blooming columbine, it looks nice at Lowes, but after a week or so of bloom it just sits around looking ratty (no offense to colombine lovers)

You cannot judge the bloom time of anything by what it is doing at Lowes or any other big box store. The majority of what they carry have had chemicals used on them to force them to bloom.

It takes about two years for a perennial to become fully settled in a garden after planting it. Not everything blooms at the same time or has blooms for the entire growing season.

COLEUS come to mind.

I am a fan of coleus, so it is easy to grow from cuttings. You do not need to wait for this one to flower, since they have wide array of colors for bedding.

If you buy a seed packet, sprinkle it all over the perennial bed after last frost. It will germinate. DO NOT cover the seeds, it is very tiny, needs light to germinate. Just keep soil moist.

Plant cuttings are usually sold in garden centers by spring. Coleus are from mint family, so they spread like crazy, you can pinch them to make a bushier plant. If you want to make more, cut 2-3 inches of your stock plant, and stick it in the ground where you want it. The do not invade like mint, because they are frost sensitive. They die in first frost.
If you want to save them for next year, a small pot, stick 2-3inches of cuttings, make them houseplant.

I have use it in shade to give color to my hosta bed, to cover the dying foliage of tulips and daylilies. It was also in my coneflower beds until these coneflowers bloom in fall. I think Coleus is my garden filler.

marigold is also easy, even seeds sprinkle on top of perennial bed germinated for me last year.

Hope this helps. Angie

What's creating the shade in your "part shade"? Part shade comes in many flavors.

There's east side of the house, no tree cover part shade, which gets direct sun all morning and shade all afternoon.
Plants labeled "part shade" or "full/part shade" like to live here. Impatiens, caladiums and begonias are easy to find classics.

There's dappled shade caused by high, open tree canopy cover. This space will get a moving pattern of sun and shadow spots all day. Same sort of plants as above.

Then there's west side of the house, no tree cover part shade, which gets shade all morning and sun all afternoon. Many shade loving plants, annual and perennial, will fry in these conditions. Some "full sun" plants will thrive, while some will be sad and floppy. Trial and error will tell you what works in your space.

My new favorite fill-in-the-garden-quick plant is canna, often treated as annuals here. I don't know if they will fit in with the "look" you are going for. Huge glossy foliage. Some varieties have multicolored striped leaves. Flowers are a bonus but not guaranteed in my climate. They don't mind damp soil or clay. The more heat, sun, water and food they get, the happier they will be and the more they will grow. They are usually sold in early spring as roots in a bag, in the "summer bulb" section with dahlias. Plant the bare roots in the garden after your last frost date. Water, feed, stand back. Enjoy. When frost ends the show, yank out and dispose of the remains. Buy new next spring. Storing and saving the roots over our long winter is a project in itself and doesn't always work.

Thank you to all for your answers. There is some really helpful advice here! I especially like the idea of planting annuals that are likely to re-seed on their own. I know that having multiples of each perennial plant would also help fill things in but I have a limited budget for gardening... thus the use of annuals. To answer some of the questions posted... I am in the midwest. The soil is clay-based but not hard red clay like you would find in many other parts of the country. The drainage is not great but okay. The part-shade is due to a pine tree and some shrubs nearby. The area is mostly sun in the AM, then shade during the late AM and afternoon, then sun again until dusk.

Here are some of the plants I have planted there in the past:
Rudbeckia (Black eyed Susan)- 2 years ago-has done great!
False Indigo (yellow)- 2 years ago-started really small but seems to be growing a little each year
Japanese Anemone-3 years ago- did okay the first season but pretty much disappeared after that (I don't think I provided enough frost protection)
Boxwood Shrub- 2 years ago- HUGE FAIL- dead as a doornail by the spring
Turtlehead- 3 years ago- never really grew beyond it's original size and was eventually accidentally mowed down by my husband
Sedum (a couple varieties)-2 years ago- have done really well
Hibiscus-2 years ago-comes back happy every year
Barberry bushes- last year- we'll see what spring brings!
Hydrangea macrophylla (can't remember the name)-last year- did great last season... we'll see about this year

I also tried planting alyssum in a nearby area one time and it died almost immediately. I think I overwatered it. I had it growing in a pot in that same location and it did great in the pot.

Thanks again for all the helpful information.

you said: The area is mostly sun in the AM, then shade during the late AM and afternoon, then sun again until dusk.

===>>>
the usual definition of full sun.. is anything in excess of 8 hours .. and no one said it has to be all in a row ...

and yours is perfect because the plants are out of the hot sun part of the day ... you can even grow hosta within this description ...

i wouldnt be surprised... that you cant do a lot of plants marked full sun ... and you will never know.. until you try ...

you said: and was eventually accidentally mowed down by my husband

===>>> i dont know what to say about this.. other than to ask.. WHAT THE HECK WAS HE DOING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FLOWER BED???

perhaps this newbie ought to learn about edging this summer???? or insist he is sober while mowing.. lol ... and dont look into plastic.. we will find you ... lol.. check out the link all you need is the right shovel.. and some excersize ... someone on GW had some spectacular pix of their own edging .. perhaps start a new thread is you are interested ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link