These flowers remind me of my Great-Granny's garden ;)

Alyssums (white)
Bachelor's Button
Clarkia
Cleome
Cosmos
Dianthus
Larkspur
Love-in-a-Mist
Marigolds
Phlox
Poppy
Sweetpeas
Zinnia

Kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate
Daisies
Buttercups
Iris
Peony
Hollyhock
Foxglove
Bleeding Heart
Violets
Johnny Jump-up

Interesting tidbit:

The English have given the Pansy many nicknames, such as Call-meto-you, Love-true, Three-faces-under-a-hood, Pink-eyed-John, Tickle-my-fancy, Bird's-eye, Jump-up-and-kiss-me, God-father, Godmother, Love-in-idleness, Kiss-me-in-the-buttery, Rob-run-the-street, and Heartsease. With such names, it is not strange that the French call it pensee, for this word means thoughts.

How can I forget....another good old-fashioned annual is Calendula.

I'm growing a new one this year called 'Radio', an heirloom variety with quilled petals ;)

Ohhh, and there is Morning Glories too!

Sharon

Thanks for the replies! I am making a good list. And I'm always glad to hear more ideas--thanks.

Zinnias, Petunias, poppies, snapdragons, sunflowers, sweet peas.

Salpiglossis (painted tongue), Ginny. One of my favorites. Very easy to grow, too. Check out the Select Seeds catalogue for great heirloom seeds and plants, too.
Ginger

The Smithsonian web site on the link below has tons of antique catalog covers so you can see what eye candy they were pushing on our grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Some of the covers are quite beautiful.
Remy

Here is a link that might be useful: Antique Seed Nursery Catalog Covers

Thank you everyone. I am enjoying making this list. And a big thank you to you, Remy, for that great link. What gorgeous illustrations and interesting information. That's a keeper.

Thanks so much for that link, Remy-gorgeous!!!

Lets not forget the celosia or commonly known as cockscomb(the plume and the crested )varieties

I would love to get my hands on copies of some of those images for framing. No wonder Granny didn't stand a chance with that eye candy.

nice site with covers, oddly the daisy selection had no daisy in it, it was one with no flowers and one with petunia and pansies.

Dont forget 4'oclocks one of the oldest varieties
and is making a fair comback in many gardens.

i Like geraniums big balls of color and petunias & pansies are always good for constant flashes of mixed colored blooms.

Gerbera daisy is always good for near the back of the garden as their blooms come well up over its foliage and offers hight, then behind them snaps, gladiolas and lilies. Crinum and canas and amarylus if you need some with bulk and extravagant sized blooms.
Granted not all my selections are annuals some are annuals in the north, yet parennial in south. some are true annuals or perennials. I don't have any of my gardens with just one or the other.

One note: pansies don't seem to seed well, their little cusins the jump ups do. I had over 100 pansies last year and not one this year, but i had a dozen johnny jump ups last year and now i have hundreds this year.

How about Bells of Ireland? Someone at work recieved a lovely bouquet of flowers over the winter and they had these most interesting flower stalks on them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bells of Ireland

My favorites are zinnias, love lies bleeding, and love in a mist. Actually, I love them all and am running out of room. I can't have just one of anything.

Nasturtiums
Snapdragons
Anything that makes a nice tall cut flower.

Some not mentioned:

Garden Balsam, Touch-me-nots (Impatiens balsamina)
Forget-me-nots (Myostis sylvatica)
Canterbury Bells, Cup and Saucer (Campanula medium)
Heliotrope (Heliotropum arborescens)
Blue Lobelia (Lobelia erinus)
Pincushion Flower (Scabiosa stellata)
Stock (Matthiola incana)