Gomphrena
These days, we need value – if I am going to spend my hard-earned money on a plant, I better get a good return – none of these fancy, fickle plants that may or may not like my yard. None of those pedigree plants with hard-to-pronounce names that no-one knows. No sir… give me a tried and true workhorse that won’t break the bank!
And, don’t talk to me about annuals not being worth it – dying at the end of the season. Having to be replanted every year. I am all about annuals. They’re easy to grow, reasonably priced and talk about performance. They will bloom profusely from the time I plant in April (here in Zone 7) and I’ll have blooms until frost, which means I’ll be looking at flowers sometimes after Thanksgiving. That’s eight full months, folks!
My current favorite annual, which I am staring at as I write, is Gomprena. If you’ve never grown it, grow it. I planted one 4.5″ pot in April, and I now have a huge mound of purple blooms that I’ve been enjoying all summer and fall. Great cut flowers, great dried flowers, prolific in the garden and fills a space like no one’s business, colorful and a butterfly magnet. A solid but carefree beauty that I’ll keep planting each spring… and so should you!