By February, most of us are looking forward to the gardening season.

February also happens to include the most romantic day of the year, St. Valentine’s Day.

There are several annuals that conjure love and romance just by their names: love-in-a-mist, kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate, and for the not so lucky in love, love-lies-bleeding.

They are easily grown from seed and are beautiful as cut or dried flowers.

Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena), a native of southern Europe and northern Africa, has been grown in gardens in North America since the 1800s.

The flowers symbolize mystery, love and complex relationships.

A member of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), it blooms in late spring to summer.

The flower blossoms grow on delicate stems of 18 to 24 inches.

Leaves are light green, thin and lacy, as are the modified leaves (bracts) that form the “mist” surrounding the flowers.

When flowering is finished, showy, balloon-like seed pods form, which can be used in dried arrangements or harvested for seeds.

Love-in-a-mist does best in full sun and well-drained soil, and seeds can be direct-sown.

Sow seeds where you want the plant to grow, as they have a long taproot; they do not transplant well.

It is frost-tolerant but dislikes the heat.

Love-in-a-mist is great as a border plant, as filler in a perennial bed, or grown in a container.

Established plants are fairly drought-tolerant.

Kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate (Persicaria orientalis) is another annual said to symbolize romance.

When planted near a fence, the long nodding branches of the flowers appear to be leaning over the fence, as if looking to be kissed.

Native to Russia and northern and eastern Australia, kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate grows as a bushy plant three to four feet tall with long, branching stems.

Along the stems, fragrant, bright pink flowers grow on three-to-six-inch drooping clusters.

It attracts pollinators, including hummingbirds.

Growing conditions include full sun to part shade, moist soil, and spacing 12 to 18 inches apart.

It is tolerant of clay soils.

To use kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate as a cut or dried flower, harvest the stems when about half of the flowers are open and in the coolest part of the day to avoid wilting.

The tall plants are affected by wind, so stake them or plant them where they are protected from high winds.

Lastly, love-lies-bleeding (Amaranthus caudatus) may represent those instances when we aren’t quite so “lucky in love.”

Amaranths typically have long flower spikes, and those of love-lies-bleeding are especially eye-catching.

Dangling spikes of bright red flowers, 12- to 24-inches-long, brighten the garden from July until frost.

These flower spikes, looking somewhat like dripping blood, were said to symbolize hopeless love.

The flower spikes may be cut and dried for arrangements or to enable harvesting the edible seeds.

Left in the garden, the seeds will provide food for birds through the winter.

To grow love-lies-bleeding, direct-sow after the last frost.

It requires full sun to part shade, well-drained, moist soil and is drought-tolerant.

Reaching two- to four-feet-tall, once flower spikes form, most plants will require staking.

The drooping forms are lovely in a hanging basket.

If you are looking for romance this garden season, perhaps you will love adding one of these plants to your garden.

“Growing Green” is contributed by Diane Dorn, Lehigh County Extension Office Staff, and Master Gardeners. Information: Lehigh County Extension Office, 610-391-9840; Northampton County Extension Office, 610-813-6613