Meaning & use
annual flower
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
a plant that grows, blooms, and dies within a single growing season, so it must be replanted each year
Grammar: Countable: one annual flower, several annual flowers. Often shortened to 'annual' in gardening talk.
Patterns
- plant annual flowers
- grow annual flowers from seed
- annual flowers in a bed
We fill the front border with annual flowers every spring because they bloom all summer.
Marigolds are popular annual flowers that are easy to grow from seed.
Unlike perennials, annual flowers die with the first frost and must be replaced.
Word forms
| plural | annual flowers |
|---|
Common combinations
- plant annual flowers
- Gardeners plant annual flowers after the last frost.
- hardy annual
- A hardy annual can survive a light frost.
- bedding annuals
- The park uses bedding annuals for a quick splash of color.
- grow annuals from seed
- You can grow annuals from seed indoors in late winter.
Synonyms and how they differ
- annual
- The short form used when the plant context is clear; 'annual flower' is more explicit for learners.
- bedding plant
- Focuses on plants sold for temporary display in beds or containers, which are usually annuals.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: annual flower or perennial?
annual flower vs perennial
A perennial comes back year after year, while an annual flower dies at the end of one season.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'annual flower' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Annual flowers complete their life cycle in one season and must be replanted, so the spring-planting sentence fits. Option 0 is wrong because an oak is a long-lived tree, not an annual. Option 2 describes perennials, which return on their own. Option 3 confuses the word with a garden tool.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “annual flower”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.