Think annuals are just “plant material,” plunked down for June to September color?  Think again.  Some annuals may not bloom all summer, but they do offer something unique at a specific time of the year.

Don’t hate them because they’re not petunias!  They make their season special.

With all the zinnias and lantanas, sunflowers and cannas in the garden in August and September, there is no shortage of fiery colors.  Thank goodness for snow-on-the-mountain (Euphorbia marginata) to cool things down.

Beginning life as a seafoam-green seedling, the plant develops bracts in late summer as white as freshly laundered linens.  The actual, minute flowers are hard to see, but are shaped like butterflies with wings laid flat.

Native to the states west of the Mississippi, it not surprisingly likes sun and a soil on the dry side.  It usually stands about 2 1/2 feet tall