Seniorita Rosalita is a Proven Winner cultivar. I think you have to buy the plants each year. But one plant becomes a nice clump. Salvia farinacea Victoria beside it. The other dwarf cleome are also Proven Winners. They were also striking, though not as dense a clump (slightly larger flowers). As I noted, someone thought it would be a good idea to pick them. While the taller cleome can be nice, they take much more room and, in my experience, soon become seedy. Seniorita has been blooming three months and is more beautiful than ever at about 26 inches.

Orange Cosmos From Backyard Summer 2009 Another orange cosmos In full sun and good rich soil they get very tall and huge, I wish I had a picture of one of them "orange cosmos trees" :) From Backyard Summer 2009 Annual Phlox This year I have whites, and different shades of pink. I originally moved a few plants we found growing along a road (when in season, you will see masses of them near highways). The plants flowered and disappeared..And for a few years now, they reseed and bloom in large clumps From Backyard Summer 2009 From Backyard Spring 2009 Salvia Same thing, reseeds. I recieved one plant at a swap two years ago and since then, my yard is covered in them :) They are nice plants to have, I really like them - and they do live for more that a year it seems. From Backyard Summer 2009 Blanket flower Same story, found a plant growing by a road, moved it to my yard and now I have masses of them. They tolerate draught and lots of sun, and poor soils - but boy do they love good soil. In my rose garden, I have to weed them out so they do not eat the roses! The plant gets big AND the flowers are much larger in diameter From Backyard Summer 2009 I do not have a picture of Alyssum . It likes colder weather, or at least does not like the heat as much. It is very popular in Russia in the summer, so very different climate there! In the cooler months, it grows really well, so I would start seeds around that time. Same goes for Calendulas and the pink and white cosmos, they seem to like less heat Marigolds, I start whenever :) They reseed once they are done Here is a picture of Salvia (perennial) with marigolds From Backyard Spring 2009

An annual, in a natural setting, will set seed and then wither and die--it's done what it was supposed to do. Be transient and pass on its genes. Biennials and perennials live for more than one season. Biennials generally establish a crown and root system the first season and then set seed and die in the second season, should they survive long enough to go another round you might describe them as a short-lived perennial. I see this with foxgloves in my garden--if I deadhead them after bloom some might return the next year, but usually the basal clump is scruffy and the bud stem short and the flowers scrawny. A true perennial returns through several seasons, some are short-lived and survive a few years, some can go for decades. Climate plays a big roll in determining survival. A tomato plant is a tender perennial, and in a frost free zone can live an extended amount of time, especially if it is sprawling and the stems are on the ground so the root nodes along the stems sprout and grow into the soil; it can, if severed from the parent plant, continue on and produce fruit and seed. But eventually it will crap out from exhausting the nutrients in the soil and if it cannot extend its reach to new soil by sprawling and laying down new roots from the stem nodes, it will wither and fail.

I don`t know where you are located but I have had great success in the past with salvia coccinea(Texas sage). They were in it constantly. Make sure you get fairly large ones or put them in planters if they are on the small side. I found the birds would not go to them if they were small and planted in the ground. If you can find a nursery/garden centre that offers ANNUAL sages such as Black and Blue, Hot Lips or Yvonne (Salvia splendens) for example, these are attractive to hummingbirds. Zinnias are another annual that seems to attract them. I have had success with fuchsia Gartenmeister for shadier spots. Most of my gardens are perennial based but Salvia coccinea and fuchsia Gartenmeister have definitely worked for me.