• Annuals often provide bright colors to the garden landscape.flowers image by Blu-Mu from Fotolia.com
  
  Annual flower beds add color and texture to a landscape. Most new homeowners and beginning gardeners focus on planting annuals. However, seasoned gardeners also recognize the appeal of a garden bed that can be completely redesigned every year. Annuals live from late spring until fall in New Hampshire, according the the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension.
  
  

Traditional Annual Bed

• A traditional annual bed consists of a very symmetrical design. The plants are set in groups according to size. The front border plants are under a foot in height and are placed in long, narrow groupings, according to the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension. A middle border of plants follows the same contour lines as the front border. The middle plants are 1 to 3 feet in height and are set in groups of 5 to 10 plants. Plants in the front and middle groups are usually the same width as they are tall. The back border plants should be placed in small groups of two or three, mostly located in the center back of the bed. These plants are over three feet tall and add vertical interest to the garden.
  
  

Waves of Color

• Annual beds often feature dramatic colors. A bed can be used to display one type of flower in many different shades, creating a wave of color. Petunias, for example, can fill an entire flower bed. White petunias begin on the far left of the bed. As you move left, the petunias are planted in bands of different colors. For example, the white can be followed by light lavender, then purple, ending with a midnight shade of petunias. The plantings can be shades of the same color or a rainbow of different colors.
  
  

Cottage Garden

• A vintage cottage garden combines both functional annuals, such as herbs, with colorful flowers that add visual interest to the garden. The overall design of a cottage garden appears as if plants were tucked here and there. Many traditional cottage garden plants are well-suited for New Hampshire, according to Diane Kelley. Consider planting chives, creeping thyme, echinacea, impatiens, lavender, marigolds, petunias, snapdragons and vincas along with other herbs and colorful flowers.