26 Annual Flowers for Year-Round Color

Sunflower
Summer: A common annual flower is sunflower, but Solar Flare sunflower (shown here) is anything but commonplace. Its flowers feature a flame style petal, with a black center disk surrounded by two-tone petals: burgundy by the dark center fading to brilliant gold. The effect is stunning in the garden, and plants are small enough (5 to 6 feet) that they fit into casual cottage garden style designs, including cutting gardens. Look for other sunflower varieties in unexpected colors, all easy to grow from seed.