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.

For a tropical look with your landscaping, add the beautiful rose of Sharon, also known as Althea. Splashes of white, red, pink, lavender, and blue as well as bi-color paper-like flowers will bloom from late spring into fall, adding wonderful color and texture throughout your flowerbeds and gardens. The large, showy flowers attract birds and butterflies as well as other pollinators. Rose of Sharon is easy to grow, even for beginning gardeners, as they are tolerant of a wide range of conditions, including poor soil, heat, humidity, and drought.

No flower says Christmas more the beautiful and colorful poinsettia. Also known as the Christmas Star and Christmas Flower, it's said that poinsettias’ association with Christmas comes from a Mexican legend. The story goes that a child, with no means for a grander gift, gathered humble weeds from the side of the road to place at the church alter on Christmas Eve. As the congregation witnessed a Christmas miracle, the weeds turned into brilliant red and green flowers. While considered by the ancient Aztecs to be symbols of purity, in today's language of flowers, red, white or pink poinsettias, the December birth flower, symbolize good cheer and success and are said to bring wishes of mirth and celebration. It may seem strange due to their holiday connotations, but poinsettias are actually tropical plants. 

Shoal Creek Nursery features a wonderful gift shop with a wide variety of items for both the in and outdoors. Flower seeds of all types, indoor plants and pottery, small gardening tools, fun hats for working in the garden, hummingbird feeders, woven, wooden and ceramic birdhouses, bulbs such as iris and caladium, hand-made cards, hanging baskets, moss, orchids, and a variety of other items and knick knacks.

Nothing says simple elegance like orchids. Dark green leaves offsetting colorful blooms with soft, delicate petals in white or rich, tropical tones in solid colors or speckled. While there are many orchid species to choose from, they all have similar physical characteristics and are easy to spot because of their tall, gently curving stems. Orchids are popular houseplants that typically can be started anytime for indoor growth and are some of the most commonly grown. Provided they have proper growing conditions, it isn’t difficult to learn how to take care of orchids.

Bursts of natural reindeer moss are perfect for display in a topiary or bell jar. Adds rustic charm, color and texture to a variety of centerpieces or botanical displays.

Use Spanish moss as filler for dried or artificial floral arrangements as well as a soil covering for live plants to help keep the soil from drying out too quickly.

This Natural Green Preserved Sheet Moss is perfect for floral arrangements, topiaries, wreaths, dish gardens, model train installations, interior landscaping, crafts, and more.

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.

Gerbera daisies are known for their bright and cheerful daisy-like flowers. They originate from South Africa and come in various sizes and colors including pink, yellow, salmon, orange and white, with flower sizes anywhere from 2 to 5 inches across. 

A Texas native perennial with bright green foliage and hot red-orange tubular flowers beloved by hummingbirds and butterflies, Flame acanthus, also known as the hummingbird bush, is a tough and must-have plant for landscape. The blooms will last from the middle of the summer to early winter. Due to its hardiness and adaptability, Flame acanthus is a great option for xeriscaping. It also works well as a border along a sidewalk or driveway as it grows around 3 - 4 feet in height but also works well in pots. The bark is light and flaky and makes an interesting winter and early spring accent.

Often referred to as summer snap dragons because they produce a profusion of flowers resembling small snapdragons which bloom all summer long as well asinto the fall, Anfgelonias are a perfect addition to summer landscapes. Planting them in masses will make a striking display. They have the appearance of being delicate and difficult to grow but are actually quite easy, especially since they love the sun. Excellent for growing in containers and window boxes, they are also strong performers in beds and along borders. Their beautiful spikes come in a wonderful array of colors from mauve, purple and pink to blue and white and are available in tall, upright and short bushy varieties. Many think their fragrant blooms smell like apples and they make excellent cut flowers

Native to South America, the graceful, flowering bulbine was relatively unknown in the U.S. until recently. Bulbine flowers make a colorful accent for flower beds, herb gardens or a mixed container with star-shaped blooms in yellow or orange. Growing bulbine is an excellent choice for gardens and landscapes as they are drought tolerant. In fact, these flowers are often found in rock gardens with poor soil just for this reason. They can also bloom throughout the year. The sap of the succulent leaves is used medicinally in the same way as gel of the aloe vera plant, leading to the common name of burn jelly plant.

The name rock rose acknowledges the resemblance of the flowers to old-fashioned, single roses and the preferred habitat of the plants—rocky, relatively poor soil. A native shrub beloved by pollinators and originating in the Texas rocky woods and banks, the Texas rock rose is carefree and versatile. Its hibiscus-like pink- to rose-colored flowers adorn the shrubby perennial from early summer through fall. It makes wonderful curbside borders and will continue to provide months of easy-care color despite the heat.

One of the must-haves for the garden is the spiderwort. These interesting flowers not only offer something different to the landscape but are extremely easy to grow and care for. While no one officially knows how it got its name, some people think the plant was named for the way its flowers hang down like spiders. Others believe it comes from its medicinal properties, as it was once used to treat spider bites. The three-petaled spiderwort flowers are usually blue to purple, but may also be pink, white or red. They only remain open for a day while blooming in the morning hours and closing at night. The plant’s foliage consists of arching grass-like leaves that will grow about a foot or two in height, depending on the variety.