It’s almost that glorious time of year when the garden centers begin opening back up and we get to spend part of our day in the sun picking out new flowers and plants to take home and plant, then spend the rest of our day also in the sun, but with our hands in the dirt, giving these plants a new home. If you can’t tell, we’re beyond excited to get to do this once again. But every year we’re faced with the option of annual plants and flowers versus perennial plants and flowers, and if we’re being totally honest, we’ve never given much thought to either one; we tend to just pick out what we think is pretty at the time. But today we’re diving into this whole annual versus perennial thing, and our goal is to have a clue as to what we’re getting ourselves into this spring. Are you with us? Let’s get started!
First up, annuals. An annual is a plant that is going to thrive for one entire season, then it’s done. Think of it as a birthday party or holiday, these tend to be annual celebrations that happen once a year.
(image via: the spruce)
Pros:
- Annual flowers grow quickly and they grow for a long time. Hey, they have a lot of work to get done in a season and they aren’t wasting any time.
- Annuals come in just about any and every color you can imagine. This is great news for people who like to stick to a color scheme or even change up their color scheme year to year.
- Annuals can be bought on the cheap. Again, this is great news if you’re not a creature of habit and prefer to change up your colors or design year to year.
- Annuals require little to no maintenance. When planting annuals, all that’s really left to do is water them and enjoy them, so if you’re looking for low-maintenance, annuals are the plants for you!
Cons:
- While annuals are on the cheaper side, the cost can begin to add up year after year. After all, you pretty much start anew each planting season.
- Annual are low-maintenance, but they do require water, and sometimes a lot of it.
- Bugs love annuals. And not just the good bugs, the bad ones too like slugs.
Now, let’s talk perennials! Perennials, unlike their annual counterparts, come back year after year.
(image via: hgtv)
Pros:
- If you’re looking to plant once and move on, perennials are what you’ll want. They’re more of a one-and-done deal.
- Perennials don’t require too much maintenance, and often they do significantly better in more harsh weather conditions than annuals.
- Perennials are great for serious landscaping because you know what to expect year after year.
Cons:
- While you don’t have to plant perennials year after year, many don’t tend to bloom quickly, in fact sometimes it can be over a year before you see what you’ve really got.
- Perennials require at least a little maintenance, some even require a lot. You never want to skip on the research aspect of perennials.