Time is running out to plant winter annuals filling nurseries now, but if there are gaps in the garden, pick some of these cool season beauties to fill them: pansies, violas, primroses, snapdragons, delphiniums and calendula. For a contemporary touch, consider adding showy cool-season veggies instead of flowers. Some options include lavender flowering kale (yes- it’s edible), ‘Rainbow’ or ‘Ruby’ chard, ‘Bull’s Blood’ beets with red and gold-veined leaves, bronze-leafed lettuce or red mustard. Don’t ignore those six-packs or 4-inch pots of California poppies in the classic sunny orange or new sorbet or jewel colors. They can still be planted – they are striking in meadow gardens – and though grown as annuals, they are perennials. Cut them back hard after bloom for another flowering then cut back to the ground. After a summer dormancy, winter rains will awaken them for another season of bloom.