If you’ve ever grown pansies, you’ve grown Hardy Annuals. Plants that winter over, bloom in early spring, and then set seed are very easy to grow in the South. So don’t stop at pansies. There are dozens of hardy annuals you can try. These 4 are making a big splash in my zone 7 B garden right now.
Baby Blue Eyes look great with viola. The viola came to the garden as transplants from Campbell Road Nursery in Cary. The Baby Blue Eyes grew around them from a few packets of seed I raked in. Love the color combo of blue and violet. A true blue flower is hard to find. This little one fits the bill.
Dianthus is another favorite hardy annual of mine. Fragrant and covered with blooms, I like to combine them snapdragon (below). 
Flashy aren’t they? What hardy annuals are you having good luck with this spring? Please add them to the list.
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April 25, 2012 at 12:14 pm
Dabney
What is botanical name of baby blue eyes? Do you grow the dianthus from seed, too? I’m in 7a and interested in hardy annuals to grow from seed, directly sown in the garden where they’re to bloom. Would welcome your suggestions and advice on when to sow.
April 25, 2012 at 2:53 pm
christineramsey
Nemophila is the latin name for baby blue eyes.
I used transplants for the dianthus but grow lots of other hardy annuals from seed. Rake them in in Dec or early Jan (if you get derailed by the holidays). After a while, they will seed themselves and you can transplant seedlings around the garden–but only when very small in cool rainy weather.
Larkspur is at the top of my HA list. Sweet peas, CA poppies, Shirley poppies. When I was a new gardener, I used to go over the Thompson and Morgan Seed Catalog and look closely at every plant with HA in the description. Over the years, I’ve picked out my personal faves.
I like to use smaller seed companies like The Fragrant Path, PineTree and Johnny’s these days, but I still love reading the Thompson and Morgan Catalog and I do give them some of my seed budget for old time sake.
Seed Savers Exchange and other gardeners like me are also great sources for HA seeds.
Good luck with it and thanks for the great questions. Christine