I always cut off the blooms when I plant annuals, so they put their strength into spreading out for a while before they bloom, giving me bigger, healthier plants with more blooms later. Petunias are quick anyway, and they are already blooming in this bed, which I planted about a week ago.
These old buckets don't carry water any more, but they were gorgeous last year as planted containers. Anthony rigged them up so the soaker hose from the rose bushes keeps them watered regularly.
The next one is an oak half-barrel with a plastic liner. It does so much better retaining moisture with the liner, and for annuals it only needs to be 6" deep, so it is not as heavy as it would be in case I decide to move it a bit. Once the flowers grow and bloom, you really don't even see the liner, just a tub full of blooms.
I didn't really do any high plants this year, because I'm pinching pennies, but I had to get a few flowers at least. I started some tall plants from seeds just to try them, but I don't know how much luck I'll have with them. The tiny sprouts you can see if you look carefully are from last year's snapdragons. I scattered the seeds at the end of summer.
