PlantFiles: Mask Flower
Alonsoa 'Bright Spark'

I have no idea if this is an annual or a perennial, but I suspect it is a perennial used as an annual in the North.

This plant is weird...very understated. It's worth growing a couple of them in between other things in the garden for the novelty of it, but you can hardly see the flowers from a distance because they are so small -- even when the bulk of the flowers on a stem are in bloom at once.

On the other hand, it makes a nice, long-blooming counterpart for other flowers, including the greenery as a background, so it's not a total loss.

It's easy from seed and once it germinates, it grows quickly. It will take a degree or two of frost, but the foliage will be noticeably marred.