If you are looking to revitalize your landscaping at your residential or commercial property in Des Moines, West Des Moines, Ankeny, and other nearby central Iowa areas, there are many ways to do this.

You can add new retaining walls, redo the beds completely, replenish mulch, or if you’re looking for something simpler, consider planting annual flowers in your landscaping beds.

Here are some reasons why adding annual flowers benefits your lawn and landscaping.

The Differences Between Annuals and Perennials

Annuals in a garden in West Des Moines

Annual flowers are defined as annual because they only bloom once during their life cycle, while perennials bloom multiple times during their life. Annuals usually bloom much longer than perennials, which means your landscaping has longer-lasting color that is more vibrant. Many also will drop seeds, which gives the potential for new plants to grow the next year.

If you’re looking to have immediate color, then annuals are the best choice. Perennials often take a year or so to begin blooming and are just green leaves until then, leaving your landscaping without much color.

Perennials also tend to require more maintenance than annuals—they will need to be trimmed and pruned at specific times of the year, will need fertilizer, and the soil where they’re planted will need to be prepared more.

Annuals have more color choices than some perennials do and produce more colorful, brighter blooms in order to bring in pollinators.

Using annuals throughout the year gives you a chance to switch up the colors in your landscaping, even following along with the seasons if you so desire.

Annuals Are a Natural, Beautiful Way to Attract Pollinators

You can use annuals in your yard to help create a pollinator garden, which will be a natural and beautiful space where these helpful insects can find refuge. These pollinators include butterflies and bees such as honeybees and bumblebees. This is an environmentally-friendly form of landscaping and gives you a chance to observe these insects. Some annuals also attract hummingbirds.

At A+ Lawn & Landscape’s local garden center, our pros can assist you in choosing the best annuals for your landscaping that also attract pollinators.

The Best Time to Plant Annual Flowers in Central Iowa

A person planting annuals in their yard in West Des Moines

The best time to plant annuals varies with the weather. Planting some of them too early during the transition from spring to winter can cause them to be lost to a late frost. Annuals also require a certain amount of water to thrive.

There are also warm-season and cool-season annuals that grow best at different times of the year. Warm-season annuals should be planted around mid-May, and these include marigolds, petunias, impatiens, and more. Cool-season annuals usually need to be planted around March or April. These include pansies, snapdragons, larkspur, violas, and more that you can find at our garden center.

These reasons are why we suggest consulting with our team before trying to plant annuals. We can also install annual flowers for you so that you don’t have to worry about planning it out yourself.

Want to install annual flowers in your landscape beds?

At A+ Lawn & Landscape, we have been designing and installing landscapes across central Iowa for more than 30 years. We have the experience and expertise needed to make the landscaping at your home or business look great. Give us a call at (515) 289-2020 to set up a consultation!