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Garden balsam (Impatiens balsamina) is an annual flower that grows on upright stems lined with light-green, lance-shaped leaves with serrated edges. The plant is quite different than the common impatiens (I. walleriana) or the New Guinea impatiens (I. hawkeri) that have largely dominated the market in recent decades. Garden balsam has relatively sparse upright stems that support larger double flowers, not the flat flowers found in common impatiens or New Guinea impatiens. The cup-shaped flowers stretch around 1 to 3 inches across. They begin blooming in the late spring and persist all the way until frost in the fall. The flowers can be solid or bicolor, and sometimes they are spotted.Garden balsam is a fast-growing plant that is normally started indoors six to eight weeks before the last frost date. Live plants are not commonly offered in nurseries, so gardeners usually need to buy seeds.