Suggestions of Annuals?

Skipping details for brevity...we have a large front yard, covered with wood chips for a couple of years...we want to make it prettier...but can't plant our dream perennials this year while we map out sunlight better.

So...I would like to plant some annuals...but I now know perennials better!  Any advice on Fast-Growing, Pretty Annuals which won't make me regret introducing them?  We live north of Boston, site is neither wet or dry, quite flat, soil is rocky, more sand than clay. and, while there will be shade, this is one of the sunnier areas on our yard.  

It is a large, bare yard, bounded in back by a rock wall 3 feet high.  I would like some large, bold, dramatic plants that would quickly fill space with color, to be pretty for us and our neighbors...but won't re-seed so aggressively that I fight it for years afterward.

Any recommendations?

Thank you, mlb

My favorites are:

French Marigolds, tagetes




Petunias




Sweet Alyssum, because beside being pretty it smells so nice!

Cosmos get pretty big.




Sunflowers can get big also.

Nasturtiums are very lush and spread out; and taste good.




Okra has interesting leaves and pretty flowers, and can get pretty tall.




I was surprised that sesame did ok for us when we lived in Vermont. It's flowers are pretty.




Any pumpkins would spread and cover as much as you'd let them. I like "decorative gourds". They are fun shapes and very good on salads if picked when tiny and soft.

I really like zinnias- seed is widely available, they come in a variety of colors, petal forms, and heights, and they're mightily attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds.  They're adaptable to a wide variety of soil conditions, do well in full sun, and (for me) haven't been an issue in terms of self-seeding.  I've been using "Persian Carpet" that only gets ~ 12-18" tall in some places, and cactus types that get 3-4 feet high in others.  

I've done well with scarlet runner beans too, trained around a trellis or other structure.  They look good, do well in cooler climates, and the beans are edible.  

Good luck!

Bachelor buttons are pretty and easy.

Thank you everyone.  We have some of these started...we'll see how it goes.  I also hope that this year the 3-sisters will work better than previously.

mlb