Earlier that spring – before I pulled out the grass – I succumbed to spring fever and planted what I thought were annuals in the tiny bed around the ivory silk lilac tree (Syringa reticulata). I bought the pink, lavender, red, white and picotee carnation-like annuals (probably Dianthus chinensis or more commonly known as pinks) from a big box store’s annual section.

During their first, and I thought, their only year of growth, these little annuals bloomed their hearts out from spring right to the first frost. I vowed I would buy them again the next year. So bright and cheerful!

Snow melted and the annual dianthus, shook off their slumber, and plunged into a spectacular display of blooms. Not only were the plants larger than last year, the number of blooms had quadrupled. The colour and intensity of the blooms transcended the annual pinks from pretty to fabulous.

And it’s not just my opinion. My neighbour immediately went out and brought some. My photography workshop colleagues and facebook friends were equally impressed with the photographic blooms.

So, as a perennial aficionado, I humbly submit to you, buy some annuals. Let them overwinter. They may surprise the assumptions off you.