Impatiens are annuals in most regions, but they self seed and grow new
plants each season. Annuals are very popular because they give a larger
burst of color and usually last much longer through the season than
perennials. I'm not knocking perennials (I have many perennials in my
garden), but annuals give you a much better selection of colors and you can
fill in bare spots in perennial beds with beautiful color. They are also
much less expensive. The perfect garden starts with perennials in groupings
and then gets filled in with annuals to enhance them.

I live in a region where flowers grow year round. Annuals play a very big
role in that. In spring, we have hundreds of colors and textures to use in
our gardens. In fall, we use pansies (hundreds of colors), kale, ornamental
cabbage, grasses. We plant the spring flowers in mid April and they last
until mid October (6 months). At that time, you plant pansies and enjoy
them through the winter until April again. Perennials will bloom for a
period of time (early spring, mid spring, summer, or fall), but will usually
taper off in blooms. Also, many perennials die back in winter to the ground
(the plant looks dead) and then re-emerge in spring or summer. You have to
wait until their bloom time to enjoy them again. Annuals are what I call
instant gratification in color.

Hope this explains why people enjoy annuals as much as perennials.

Penny
Zone 7b - North Carolina
"Ablang" wrote in message
...
Are lilacs (impatiens) annuals or perennials?

Also, if an annual is not supposed to last more than 1 year (season), what
is
the point of planting and watering them if you are wasting your time?

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