An Annual Celebration

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Oh, go ahead stuff some more in! Recently, I cautioned you not to overplant perennials, because what looks sparse at first can quickly become overgrown in a few years. But that's not true for annuals which only get one chance to show off.

I just came back from a trip to Buffalo NY and Niagra-on-the-Lake, Ontario - towns that endure serious winters and are determined to make up for it with stupendously sized summer garden displays - packing piles of annuals into every planter, bed, box, and traffic island imaginable.

There's not mulch between their plants, instead you see…MORE PLANTS. Impatiens? Why use one flat where five will fit just as well? One three-story house had huge boxes under every window on all sides overflowing with three-foot festoons of petunias. Traffic islands were practically paved with geraniums. It was breathtaking, inspiring and proof that when it comes to planting annuals, too much is never enough.

Reported By Phran Novelli, KYW Newsradio