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The easiest and most certain way to add quick color to a garden, or to dress up a patio, a porch or a deck is to use annuals. Annuals are fast growing, easy to grow, and most are not demanding of a lot of maintenance. What you choose to use depends a lot on your climate and your growing conditions. Here are some recommendations to think about when considering which annuals to choose for your garden.

For borders, ageratum is an outstanding choice. It is a low growing annual that is best suited to sunny conditions, but grows in part shade. It blooms from June through October and will continue to look nice all growing season because of its even growing habit.

Another annual that is well suited for borders, rock gardens, containers or hanging baskets is Sweet Alyssum. It grows slightly taller than ageratum, but will withstand drought and heat. It will bloom continuously as long as the spent blooms are removed. The best time to plant this annual is in early spring. It will not withstand frost. One of most attractive features of alyssum is that it doesn't require a lot of attention.

Petunias are incredibly hardy, resilient and dependable annuals . They are also extremely easy to grow. They can be grown in borders, as part of an annual bed, in containers, window boxes or even in hanging baskets.

For cooler weather, pansies and viola are good annuals to grow. They don't demand a lot of care, tolerate light frost and have a long blooming season. Whether you start them from seed or purchase plants, both pansies and violas are very dependable.

For shadier areas, impatiens and coleus are good choices. If you are looking for something to fill a shady bed quickly and don't want a flower or plant that demands a lot of care, impatiens is a good choice. It doesn't grow very tall and blooms prolifically. Plant one color or mix different colors together.

New Guinea impatiens is completely different than regular impatiens. The leaves are much larger and are a dark burgundy. New Guinea impatiens is ideal for hot and sunny locations. Although it grows taller than traditional impatiens, it is well suited to beds or containers, whether alone or mixed with other annuals.

For containers or hanging baskets, sweet potato vine will give you interesting foliage color that can contrast with most annual flowers. It grows well in full sun or partial sun conditions. At the end of the growing season, dig up the plants and save the potato tubers to use the following year.

Geraniums are well known as

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