It’s really easy to start off a few flowering plants now to give a super colourful Summer display. We looked at some of the seeds that will germinate quickly and produce flowers within a few weeks.
The flowers we chose were:
Stocks, Clarkia, Nasturtiums, Poppies, Honesty, Cosmos, Flax, Nasturtiums and Marigolds. All super easy and will flower soon and attract lots of beneficial insects.
They can either be sown direct into fine prepared soil in an outdoor bed or they can be started off in pots or trays. This gives them a better chance of success as they can be planted out when they are a bit larger. For the workshop we sowed everything into pots and trays. We all tried different plants and looked at the different planting depths. Make sure you follow the instructions on the packet for planting depth as this will ensure good germination.
We sowed the smaller seed in neat little drills in the seed trays and used wooden labels to name everything, it’s amazing how quickly you forget what you plant! The pots were well watered using a fine spray.
The pots and trays were then put into the poly tunnel and some of the seeds had germinated within a few days. Don’t worry if you don’t have a poly tunnel, a greenhouse or sunny windowsill will do the job.
Once the seedlings are big enough to handle you can move them on into a bigger individual pot to let them grow on and make a strong root system. They can be planted out in their growing position after 2-3 weeks. If we are beyond the end of May there is no need to harden them off first. (hardening off is the process where you get tender plants used to outdoor temperatures.) Have fun!
