1. ANTIRRHINUM
Antirrhinums are known more widely as snapdragons and these cottage garden favorites are commonly sown early in the year, to flower from June onwards. Seeds can actually either be sown indoors in fall, or in early spring from February onwards in a greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill inside the home.
2. CERINTHE
Cerinthe is a fantastic hardy annual that can provide striking foliage in a border. The plant reaches around two feet in height and has silvery-blue leaves that are topped with purple hanging bell-shaped flowers. Cerinthe is best sown indoors from February to April, while it is also a flower to sow in fall and overwinter for very early blooms.
3. BLACK-EYED SUSAN
Black-eyed susans, also known as rudbeckia, come in shades of red, yellow, and orange and can be either perennial, biennial, or annual plants. Black-eyed susans bloom for a long period, from summer through fall, and annual varieties can be sowed from seed indoors from February onwards.
4. SILENE
Silene is a wide genus of mainly attractive perennial wildflowers that are loved by bees and whose blooms can come in many shades. Many species are popular ornamental plants that form clumps with delicate spikes of divided petals that bloom throughout summer and into fall.
5. HARDY GERANIUM
Many people grow hardy geraniums as they are reliable and long-flowering perennials that have a plethora of uses in the garden. These perennial plants can work in cottage gardens, flower beds, as ground cover plants, or look fantastic in pots. And there is a wide range of hardy geranium varieties to choose from, coming in a variety of colors. These plants are easily confused with annual geraniums, also known as pelargoniums, but there are major differences between the two.
6. SALVIA
Salvias are hugely popular plants as part of many people’s backyard ideas. There are annual and perennial forms of salvias to grow and they are fantastic late summer flowers. Their long blooming season means they are still displaying late on - almost into November - as plants for fall pollinators.
7. OSTEOSPERMUM
Osteospermum, also commonly known as the African Daisy, is a vibrant addition to any flower bed, with its blooms coming in bright shades of orange, yellow, pink, purple, and white. The plants bloom throughout the summer and fall and are known to attract bees and other pollinators.