High Deanna,

Snapdragons, coleus, vinca, portulaca, and celosia. I left zinnias off the list because they are a hobby of mine, and I grow my own zinnia plants, rather than buy them.

ZM

I grow lots of different annuals but a particular favorite of mine is Rudbeckia Cappuccino. It may not be suitable for a plant sale but it's huge Daisy like flower has red-brown petals with gold tips and a brown button. They really add to zing to my beds. It has the added bonus of sometimes wintering over.

I wonder though if you'd make much selling plants. By the time you buy the pots and soil and seed I don't think you could compete with garden centers. I think I'd cost it out before you start.

profusion and zahara zinnias, pentas, vinca, scaevola, angelonia

Petunias, Geraniums, Coleus, Annual Vince, Begonias.

Absolute best, period (imho): Yvonne's salvia
Best marigold: Narai Yellow or Gold (takes some effort, but might be the world's best marigold.)
Best Cosmos: Brightness
Guara
and others.

Sorry, add Versa Coleus to my list. They are the most commercially planted annual plant for color in my city. They are everywhere. Mostly you see the lime and maroon planted together, but I have seen a nice display of "watermelon". They do very well in the direct hot sun. Seeds are expensive, unfortunately.
I also like Black Dragon coleus (beautiful in person), well actually any beautiful coleus for the shade.
There are others, but I will stop at 5.

It's hard to pick just 5!

I always grow heliotrope, New Guinea impatiens, and geraniums.

I always also have at least a few petunias and vinca, since they are sentimental favorites for me, I manage to fill a few small pots with these no matter what. Polka dot vinca (pure white with a small red eye) was one of the first seeds I ever grew, so it holds a special place for me - the joy I felt when those first little plants bloomed! And the smell of petunia on a warm summer night takes me way back...

I recently started growing pentas, and they've now wormed their way onto my "must have" list - love them! Zinnas, too (specifically "Uproar Rose")

Let's see - ageratum, browallia, tuberous begonia, and "Black and Blue" salvia are favorites, too, although some years I don't incorporate them.

I also have regular impatiens every year, not because I'm enthralled with the flower itself, but because they are workhorse shade plants.

For foliage effect - gotta have elephant ears and Persian shield every season!

For pots, I would choose angelonia, calibrachoa, alyssum, coleus, and verbena. I had to leave off euphorbia. For bedding, vinca, begonia, and celosia. Here are some pot pics:
In June:
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Same pot last week. Yes, a little blowsy.
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In June:
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And some now:
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WOW! Did you buy those containers, or did you arrange and pot them up yourself? What do you fertilize with?

Deanna

Great container combos!

I have never seen pots that perfect! Please share your soil, fertilizer and watering secrets. Thanks.
Bob

Most of the plants were small Proven Winners, though some (such as the alyssum) are just from 6-pack annuals. The soil is nothing great--a mixture of peat and whatever decent soil I can find at a reasonable price. I just use Miracle Gro. So there is nothing special. Just start with good plants (the right plants that grow in your area) and tend faithfully (which is pretty much every day in the hot summer we had).

I don't know what happened to this deleted picture from June:
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Here is a pot of browallia that is nicer now than earlier:
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This is the showiest pot this year, but the begonias had to be replaced later (couldn't take the super-hot summer).
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What is that tall black plant..is it elephant ears? All those pot combinations are great. I don't think you can beat PW plants, especially their petunias or like..I have some lobelia seeds that I ordered in the Spring and never got around to planting them. Seeing your container combinations gives me some ideas. How often do you feed them MG? I always plan to apply MG every 2 weeks but then it gets to be such a hassle to drag out the hose and do it, or I get busy and just plain forget it. That last picture, are those double impatients or begonias? My alyssum didn't do too well in the 100 degree heat spell we had this summer, but once the temps dropped to the 80's, it has taken off and blooming its head off. I have to learn to plant alyssum a little further back from the edge of the bed because once it started blooming so well, it crept right over the scalloped brick pavers and I had to trim it back because I was afraid somebody would trip over it(mail person for one and DH for another) Is that scaveola with that black EE's plant or is it browalia? Not familiar with that but if that is what is in with that black plant, I want some of it next Spring! Thanks for sharing these pictures of your container combinations..very inspirational!

The plant with the black colocasia (one reader thinks it is Black Coral) is indeed browallia. What a wonderful fall plant, though it doesn't like summer heat!

I feed Miracle Gro about twice a week.

The last picture has Solenia begonias. In recent summers, they do no do well past June, but what an intense color for about 6 weeks. The pot still looks good, even without the begonias (a mum has replaced them in one pot). The alyssum is wonderful container plant; it does indeed show better in cooler weather, but still blooms here and survives in the summer.