Adding these unique flowers to your garden won’t break the bank when you sow them yourself
There was a time when I used to eagerly look the arrival of seed catalogs in the mail each winter . Then I ’d baby-sit in the window and fold down the page edge after score the packets I wanted with a highlighter . Now I do all my ordination on the internet , but my mission is still the same — to trace up my planting menu for myvegetable gardenfor the class . I particularly love to try new things , so besides tried - and - dependable varieties , edibles such as oddpumpkinsand cooltomatoeslike ‘ Dark Galaxy ’ also make it onto my shopping list . A few years ago , I addedflowering annualseeds to my order when I had some extra space to fulfill . I tossed the flower sow into the garden and pretty much disregard them — until I noticed them blossom . Wow ! It was an incredible show for very little movement . That was the showtime of my love for growing flowers from seed .
Here are six of my favorite blossoming annuals togrow from seed . They are easy to grow in theNorthwestand can well fit into the vegetable garden or a sundry boundary line . They can all be startedindoors under lightsor on a windowsill and be ready to put into the garden after the last rime has expire . If you originate the seeds in belated winter or former spring , using acold framecan help the transition between indoors and outdoors .
1. Sweet peas are wonderfully colorful flowering vines that can be directly sown in spring
Sweet peas(Lathyrusodoratuscvs . ) are one of my favorite one-year vine . They can be direct sown in the dry land even in the cold natural spring , started indoors , and moved out too soon in the spring , or planted as dip seedling . hit it up the seeds in water overnight before sowing , and keep them moist as you wait for them to sprout . Germination take about 14 days . supply full sun to partial shade and support for the vines . Also , keep the pods blame and they will bloom throughout the twelvemonth until a difficult freeze . I grow mine on a big trellis with a species rose ( Rosasp . , Zones 2–8 ) . The sweet peas are not bad for covering the trellis after the rose is finished blooming in June . This class my sweet peas of choice were a satisfying blue container diversity called ‘ Electric Blue ’ that only grow 3 to 4 understructure tall , and a improbable motley call ‘ Blue Streamer ’ with incredible frosted - grim blooms streaked with snowy stripes and patch .
2. ‘Kilimanjaro White’ marigold helps repel insects and looks beautiful in the garden
‘ Kilimanjaro White ’ marigold ( Tagetes erecta‘Kilimanjaro White ’ ) is a fairly large flowering yearly that is more than just another pretty bloom . As a marigold , it is be intimate to draw beneficial worm and repel cabbage - worm moths and mosquitos . The endearing 2 - inch - diam creamy white blossom are strike on 18 - inch - tall plant life and can be pick and enjoy deep down . Rather than bug out the seeds indoors , I care to sow them immediately in my veggie bed . Place them in full sun and unspoilt , moist soil , and protect them from slugs when they are young seedlings . After flowering , the developed seeds can be saved at the end of the time of year and used again the next spring .
3. ‘Queeny Lime Blush’ zinnia provides a riot of color in the garden and in a vase
If you are looking for a gorgeous cut heyday , look no further than ‘ Queeny Lime Blush ’ zinnia ( Zinniaelegans‘Queeny Lime Blush ’ ) . The flowers are without parallel , reblooming and stout , and are a bang-up summation to mixed nosegay or all together alone in a vase . ‘ Queeny Lime Blush ’ grows to 25 inches marvelous and provides a scream of color on each fully doubled rosiness with lime - light-green to red ombre flower petal and a beautiful red center . The seminal fluid can be started early indoors or sow directly after the last frost . Just be sure to give them full sunshine and skillful , dampish soil as well as slug protection as the seedlings mature .
4. ‘Pride of Gibraltar’ honeywort offers unique blooms that benefit bees and butterflies
‘ Pride of Gibraltar ’ honeywort ( Cerinthemajor‘Pride of Gibraltar ’ ) is a captivating yearbook . The rangy stems sprout up without much avail and will reseed . The flowers , indigo - violet Vanessa Bell , hang from bronzy blue bract above greyish - green parting . The plant can be 24 to 30 inches tall and are expectant in a garden mount with full sun to partial shade . The flowers are also splendid in bouquet . The semen can just be shallowly placed and covered over with a little soil . I like honeywort at the corners of my veggie beds because they spill nicely over the raised blocks . The flowers also appeal bee and butterflies .
5. ‘Royal Flush’ sunflower is wildly fun with different-colored blooms on the same plant
No garden is complete without sunflowers ( Helianthusannuuscvs . ) . I have grown several varieties , but ‘ imperial Flush ’ is my new favorite . This wildly fun survival has various colors on the same plant life — ensue in the tone that you are getting numerous plant for the price of one . The bronze - yellow , orangish , and sunny yellow blooms grow on hard stem turn that make up to 5 to 6 feet marvelous in full sunshine and moist land . The seeds can be sown directly after the last frost . As with the other yearbook , be sure to protect the young seedling from slugs and bird .
6. Dahlias from seed cost less for the same big, beautiful blooms
I ’m a Brobdingnagian fan ofdahlias(Dahliaspp . and cvs . , geographical zone 8–11 ) and have been buy and growing them as potted plant or Tuber for years . Last yr I settle ( on a trematode worm ) to stress start dahlias from seed . Among my early experiments was a cactus - blossom mix from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds . I started the seeds indoors 4 to 6 week before the last icing . I grew them in my greenhouse and then put them in my cold frame to harden off . They looked a piffling gangly , so I pinch them back a little . They did n’t count great when I put them in the ground , but I tossed some slug sweetener around them and left them to resist for themselves . I cheat on by the bed a workweek afterwards with a couple of stake to help them along . By the end of the summertime the plant were amazing—5 feet tall with loads of blooms on secure strong base . They looked every morsel as endearing as the genus Tuber I winter from the premature yr and plant at the same time . The added benefit was that I could choose the one I loved and dig the genus Tuber for next year .
When start any plants from ejaculate , check the semen packet for the growing instructions for both in - land and inside . This approach is an incredibly easy and inexpensive way to quiz out new industrial plant and discover novel favorites for your garden . If you have never taste develop bloom from seed , I encourage you to try it . I did n’t mean I had the patience or focalise to catch over tiny seedling . I was wrong , and it ’s really fun . Just be careful — it can be habit-forming .
To learn more about growing plants from seed , check outThe Science of Seed Starting .
— Susan Calhoun is the possessor of Plantswoman Design in Bainbridge Island , Washington .
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Photo: Jennifer Benner
Photo: Jennifer Benner
‘Queeny Lime Blush’ zinnia.Photo: Susan Calhoun
Honeywort.Photo: Jennifer Benner
Cactus-flowered dahlia.Photo: Susan Calhoun
