My flower bed has both vinca and impatiens (they look very similar but have distinct differences). Impatiens are considered perennials at zone 10 and 11, but are annuals at zone 9 and colder and have to be replanted each year.
Except - I haven't ever planted them. The only plants I've planted have been the potted plants - oregano, basil, spike lavender, lemon thyme, rosemary, and a couple of flower bulbs that I forget what they're called. The lemon thyme was supposedly the hardiest of the bunch in our zone, and it died last winter and never recovered. The basil finally died last month. You can't kill oregano, so obviously it's doing just fine after I tried to intentionally kill it last potting season because it was suffering from root rot. I did successfully kill the rosemary bush because it had outgrown its ENORMOUS pot and had rooted into the flower bed through the hole at the bottom of the pot. That's where the oregano is now. The rosemary bush had grown to be over 4' high, it was a monster.
A squirrel gave me some "elephant ear" leaves and they look pretty snazzy in the garden.
What do I do to maintain all this? Not a damned thing. I planted the stuff in the pots, gave it a good soaking, and left it all to nature. Everything growing in the bed itself was either there when I moved in, or grew as a direct result of my neglect. I weed it when I'm inspired, harvest when I need herbs for cooking. That's pretty much it.
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