Deriving their name from the five-pointed petals on the flowers, Pentas are warm region tropical blooming plants.  They come in a profusion of colors, with flowers that are a variety of pink, red or white, but new cultivars have introduced tones of purple and lavender and mixed blooms such as pink with red centers.  When you know how to grow Pentas, you have a foolproof way of attracting hummingbirds and butterflies, too. 

Beautiful and extremely popular flowering plants that grow well both in the garden and in containers, Geraniums are popular for their bright and sometimes fragrant flowers, but they bring with them the extra bonus of being especially good companion plants.  They come in a wide range of colors, from white and red to various shades of pink and purple.  Growing geranium plants is easy as long as you can give them what they need. Depending on where or how you grow geranium plants, their needs will be somewhat different. Indoors, geraniums need lots of light for blooming but will tolerate moderate light conditions.  These plants need to be grown in well-draining potting soil as well. When growing geraniums outdoors, they require moist, well-draining soil similar to that of indoor potting soil with equal amounts of soil, peat, and perlite. Locate your geraniums in an area with at least six to eight hours of sunlight. Mulching the plants is also recommended to help retain moisture.

Cyclamen are part of the Primrose family and the plant was a favorite of artist Leonardo Da Vinci, who used them to decorate the margins of his manuscripts at the beginning of the 16th century. They are generally winter and spring flowering plants that are available in a wide array of colors including white, red and ranging from light to dark pink. It is a perennial plant that is versatile, as it can be used as an indoor plant or can form part of flowerbeds in the garden or containers. With flowers typically appearing between December and May, they enjoy potted positions with a good degree of light, but away from direct sunlight. They also benefit from adequate ventilation.

One of the most popular annuals, petunias add masses of color to gardens and containers. These tough plants are capable of putting on loads of blooms all season long and come in a wide variety of colors and patterns with an almost endless range of options.  The blossom size selection is quite diverse as well. Whether you're looking for a low-growing groundcover, a mounding type for containers, or a rambling wild plant to fill up some space, there is a petunia for every situation.

The most popular flower grown in the U.S., impatiens flowers are bright and cheerful annuals that can light up any dark and shady part of your yard and growing them is quite easy.  They can be used as bedding plants, border plants or in containers as well as making beautiful hanging baskets.  When done in mass plantings, they make quite the colorful impact. They enjoy moist but well-draining soil and partial to deep shade. They do not do as well in full sun, but if you would like to plant them in full sun, they will need to be acclimated to the harsher light. You can do this by exposing the impatiens plants to increasing amount of sunlight over the course of a week.  

One of the most versatile plants that is easy to care for and packs a powerful punch of color, begonias make it easy to dress up any shady patio, deck or flowerbed..  The most popular member of the family is commonly called wax begonia. These beautiful and charming plants grow 8 to 10 inches tall and bear pink, red, or white blooms atop either green or bronze foliage. Wax begonias are so adaptable they thrive in partial sun and shade and work just as well in the flower border as they do in pots, planters, and window boxes. They have almost no insect or disease problems and their blooms are prized by butterflies and hummingbirds. 

Violas are versatile plants with delicate yet colorful blooms that work well both indoors and out. Their size, compactness and long flowering period are perfect for containers. Trailing varieties are exquisite in hanging baskets and tumbling over the edge of containers and window boxes. The scent of violas will be more noticeable when they’re indoors.

Outdoors, the mounded plants make a lovely edging along a path or to define a garden border. Combine them with other cool weather lovers like snapdragons and dianthus or tuck them between spring flowering bulbs such as tulips and daffodils to fill the space as the bulbs fade. Violas are primarily cool-season bloomers and for perfect bridging autumn and spring where they can remain in bloom throughout the winter.

No annual is more cheerful or easier to grow than the delightful marigold. These flowers are the spendthrifts among annuals, bringing a wealth of gold, copper, and brass into our summer and autumn gardens. The flower’s popularity probably derives in part from its ability to bloom brightly all summer long. Not only do they offer a wonderful fragrance and spicy, edible blooms great for brightening up salads but they are famous for keeping insects away such as mosquitoes, aphids and other pests.

Celosia—also known as Cockscomb—is a showy annual that is easy to grow and makes the perfect cut flower for a striking bouquet since the blooms are stiff and waxy. There are different varieties such as the plumed type, with its striking upright spires, or the crested type with its fascinating twisted form. The flowers are beautiful fresh but they can be dried easily if hung upside down. And they bloom in the striking colors of a glowing sunset. The stems of the plant also reflect the color of the bloom, creating a vibrant effect.

Sweet Alyssum, very easy to grow and a member of the mustard family, is a delicate carpet of tiny flowers with a subtle, sweet scent. The low-growing foliage is covered by flowers for much of the growing season. It is a cool season flower that can be set out in early spring and will grow throughout the fall and winter if there is not a freeze. The blooms come in pink, salmon, purple, white and yellow and can be encouraged to re bloom by cutting back spent flowers.

The gem-like flowers and foliage of New Guinea impatiens will transform shady spots in your landscape into a festival of color. These super-easy annual flowers, available in a variety of colors, can be used as eye-popping bedding plants or in pots and window boxes. Besides their colorful flowers, many New Guinea impatiens also offer variegated foliage. Like their shade-loving cousins the common impatiens, New Guinea impatiens form small clumps and hold their many flowers above their foliage, where they make a colorful display. Producing a lot of nectar, butterflies and hummingbirds will flock to the flowers for a quick snack.

Considered one of the easiest annuals to grow, zinnias bring an explosion of gorgeous color from early spring until late fall. The blooming may slow down a little at the height of the summer heat but since they grow very quickly and are extremely reliable, they make a wonderful choice for flower beds, pots and containers. Their cheery, bright flowers come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors such as orange, pink, purple, red, white and yellow. Zinnias, depending on the variety, grown anywhere from 6 inches to 4 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide and butterflies, bees and hummingbirds are attracted to their blooms.

Moss Rose, a succulent flowering plant also known as Portulaca, hails from Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil. It is a tough, resilient plant with bright, almost fluorescent blooms ranging from single to fully double and colors from white, cream and yellow to pink, orange and red. Their succulent leaves are a clue to their wonderful drought-tolerance. The trailing habit of the Moss Rose works perfectly for hanging baskets but also serves as wonderful ground cover since it never goes out of its bounds. Since it flourishes in poor soil, it would work well in a rock garden or stacked rock wall where it will delicately cascade down.

Originating in Central America, purple globe amaranth, also known as bachelor buttons, are a charming, easy-to-grow flower ideal for mixing in garden beds and borders or adding to pots and containers. It is a mounding plant that produces a plethora of small, purple, globe-shaped blooms. The flowers have a papery feel and are excellent for indoor bouquets or dried arrangements. Depending on the variety, purple globe amaranth, grows anywhere from 6 to 24 inches tall. They are also loved by butterflies and bees.

With the appearance of a blazing fireball and native to Texas and Mexico, the Strawberry Fields Globe Amaranths is a long-blooming, colorful addition to any garden landscaping. The blooms, which resemble strawberries with tiny yellow seeds, rise above the extra-sturdy olive-green stems so that when they open, they wave in the summer sun, intimating a care-free feeling. The Strawberry Fields are easy to grow in a sun-drenched area and a mass planting is a beautiful sight. They are also ideal for fresh-cut or dried bouquets and are attractive to butterflies and bees.

With a bloom forming a structure that resembles a chicken wishbone, that is how the torenia gets its nickname, the wishbone flower. The torenia, native to Africa and Asia, is a ground-hugging, attention grabbing plant with profuse and delicate blooms. While the flowers may appear to be delicate they are tough and able to withstand the hottest of summer heat when properly located in the landscape. It comes in a variety of multiple, bicolored shades and is a fantastic choice for beds, containers and borders. Butterflies, bees and hummingbirds love this plant.

Foliage plants such as coleus add a wonderful splash of color without having to worry about blooms but if the size of coleus is too large, then Joseph’s coat or alternanthera may be the perfect option. Available in almost the same range of colors as coleus and just as easy to grow and native to Central and South America, Joseph’s coat also comes in a wide array of sizes with a variety of leaf shapes, some with unique crinkled foliage and others with multicolored leaves. No matter the color or texture, all types of Joseph's coats are easy to grow and work perfectly in beds, containers and borders.

Gardeners know that when planning beds, pots and containers that it is not just about the flowers. Foliage is an important to the overall beauty of the landscape. And when it comes to foliage, coleus comes in at the top of the list. They have some of the most stunning and amazing colored foliage in combinations of pink, red, orange, burgundy, green and yellow as well as a wide variety of leaf sizes, patterns, color intensity and overall shapes. So no matter where in your landscaping you are looking to put coleus, there is always a place that will be a perfect fit. Add to beds, borders, pots and containers for colorful interest.