Hi Laurie, any of the succulents are great for dry places, Portulaca and Mesembryanthemum (Ice plant. Lois Hole's books are readily available in book stores and Garden Centers, reasonalbly priced too! Janet

Laurie, I think a good introduction to annuals would be to pick up a few good seed catalogs or go to a few good seed company sites - Johnny's, Thompson& Morgan, Park Seed, Swallowtail, etc. - and thumb through/look through them. I used to be primarily a perennial gardener also, and when I started growing annuals from seed, I was amazed at all the different plants that were out there! So much more than what the average garden center sells.

One thing to be aware of - not all annuals bloom all summer. I was rudely awakened to this fact, again when I started growing a lot of annuals from seed. I was used to the usual suspects in garden centers, which, for the most part, do bloom all summer. So I was surprised when, for instance, my poppies did not stick around all summer. But that's not necessarily a bad thing; it's just something you have to plan for. So check bloom times.

Good luck and have fun!
:)
Dee

Thank you, Janet and Dee. I'm glad you reminded me of seeds; I meant to ask but forgot. I'm embarrassed I know so little about annuals, including the limited growing time for some. I'd better start hanging out on this forum!

Laurie, don't be embarrassed! If you've never really grown annuals before, how are you supposed to know about them? Like I said, I learned a few things just in the last year or so, when I started growing them.

I was never a fan of annuals because I thought you got more bang for your buck with perennials, what with them coming back year after year and all. But when I started growing from seed, instead of buying annuals from the garden center, and saw the great variety of annuals out there, that's when I started learning more - still learning too, as are most of us. I now have a cutting garden that is mostly annuals, and I love it as much as my perennial beds.

:)
Dee

Southern Living does good flower books for your area -- they have one titled Annuals and Perennials that might be useful. I second the seed catalog suggestion, just have your grain of salt handy. Have you checked your local public library's gardening section yet?

Laurie,

"Can you recommend a good book on annuals or an interactive website?"

You might be interested in Graham Rice's Annual Manual website and his Discovering Annuals book.

MM

A few annuals that come to mind that prefer dry conditions are angelonia, vinca, geranium, impatiens, begonia, and salvia.

I used to be a perennials-only gal, then I started doing annuals by seed, and enjoyed it so much, that I really get into it now! For the most part, I have perennials in my beds, and enjoy trying different combinations of annuals in containers. That way, I can have different things every year if that's what I want, or also have some of my favorites too. The neat thing about annuals is that most of them bloom longer than perennials.

Deanna