Oh, I forgot to mention that I live in a warm temperate zone (near Nowra) and there are no frosts.

 This is a hard one, what I do is pot some colour in bigger pots, leave them in full sun until,they are full in bloom and later put them where I need to see colour, hiding the pots with mulch. This is what Gardeners do in Monet"s garden in Giverny.