Sunny beds

Portulaca. Known as moss rose. Thrives in high temperatures and intense sunlight because of its fleshy leaves and stems. The flowers are nearly fluorescent red, pink, orange, yellow, and white.

Tagetes patula. French marigolds, which come in shades from yellow to red to a chic maroon, will bloom from early summer to frost if you pluck the old flowers.

Osteospermum. The African daisy flower has white or lavender petals around a dark center. They'll survive with almost no water but look better with decent soil and attentive watering.

Shady beds

Semperflorens begonias. These little plants, also known as wax begonias, pump out long-lasting flowers of white to red over shiny, bronze-tinged leaves.

Coleus. These are leaves, not flowers, but great leaves: chartreuse with red edging, purple with green edging, plain chartreuse, plain wine-red, and more. Pinch off the top leaves to keep them from getting rangy. Their one flaw? They're breakable. A Chihuahua's footstep could snap the stem. But they do recover.

Torenia. Praise be, an alternative to impatiens. Also known as wishbone flower, torenia has lavender, blue, or deep-purple blossoms. They love heat but need mulch to keep their roots cool.