Annual beds placed in your yard not only add bold, bright color but can also bring sweet fragrances and edible delights.

Showy species such as geraniums, celosias, cockscomb, dahlias and plume celosias can make up several beds. Create one bed by combining old and new varieties of zonal type geraniums with ivy-leaf geraniums. Fill another bed with dahlias using plants started from seed or tubers.

Dr. Dave Williams, an Extension horticulturist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System offers these suggestions for designing your annual beds:

• A bed of drought-tolerant annuals can include species of amaranthus, portulaca and pennisetum.
• Plant edible ornamentals such as ornamental peppers or teddy bear sunflowers.
• Put fragrant plants such as scented geraniums and basils in a bed by themselves or intersperse them with other plants.
• If you like to design cut flower arrangements, you may want to plant a bed of globe amaranth, strawflowers, statice, eucalyptus and baby's breath.
• Plant a vine bed. Annual species such as moon vine, blackeyed susan vine and monastery bells are easy to grow and grow aggressively. Erect small structures to support the vines or use vines as a groundcover to fill in bare areas in the garden or landscape.