Vegetables love flowers. Aside from adding a splash of color, annual flowers planted in and near vegetable gardens and fruit plantings help bring pollinators and other beneficial insects into the garden that will protect and increase your crops. 

There are two main types of Annual flowers: cool-season hardy annuals and warm-season tender annuals.

Cool-Season Hardy Annuals

Cool-season hardy annual flowers bring a gorgeous array of bloom colors, shapes, and sizes to the garden for early-season pleasure. These early flowers attract beneficial insects and offer pollinators much-needed nectar early in the season.

Cool-season hardy annuals relish cool temperatures, growing best in spring or fall, and will tolerate a light frost. They sulk when summer sets in, especially in hot-weather areas, and will set fewer flowers or stop flowering completely until the cooler months of fall return.

When to plant cool-season hardy annuals

• Find your winter hardiness zone. Not sure about your growing zone? Check here.
• Find the first and last expected frost dates for your area (contact your local cooperative extension service or master gardener organization).

Planting cool-season hardy annuals in early spring

• Prepare your planting area in the fall. The soil could be snow-covered or too wet in early spring. 
• Clean up your summer vegetable garden by removing dead edibles and weeds and leave fresh, healthy soil for next year.
• Make sure your soil is well-drained. Wet soils damage roots, causing the plants to die.
• Cover or mulch to deter cool-season weeds.
• Plant 6-8 weeks before the last expected spring frost.
• Plant on time to give plants the time they need to get established.
• Any hardy annual that is not winter hardy in your zone should be planted in early spring because it will not survive winter.
• When possible, plant transplants in the garden rather than seeds. They have a better chance of success as it is more difficult to get seeds to sprout outdoors due to cold weather. Alternatively, use a row cover to increase temperature and facilitate seed sprouting.
• Use hoops and row covers to protect young transplants from cold winds and hungry rabbits.

Planting cool-season hardy annuals in the fall

• Make sure your annual flowers are hardy in your winter hardiness zone.
• Plant 6-8 weeks before the first expected fall frost. They will spend the next few months growing a strong root system that will carry them through the following season.
• Any hardy annual that is winter hardy in your zone can survive winter and be planted in the fall.
• Use hoops and row covers to protect young transplants from cold winds and hungry deer.