Hardy annuals will reward you with a season of colour.

Hardy Annuals

Seeds can be sown in any garden soil with free drainage. The best being a sandy loam containing some organic matter. Too rich a soil will result in soft and luxuriant growth to the detriment of flowers.

Very hardy annuals can be sown in the autumn, during September. These plants if they survive the frosts will produce an early crop of flowers.

Spring sowings can be made from the middle of March to the middle of April. Later sowings for flowering in autumn are made from the middle of May to the middle of June. Split sowings like this will ensure a long and colourful season.

The traditional way of growing annuals is to prepare the border by forking over, firming and levelling, then when the ground has warmed up enough; the surface can be broken up and raked into a fine tilth.

Areas are marked out onto the border using fine sand where each type of seed is to be sown, then the seed is either broadcast into each area or shallow drills can be made 25cm apart and the seed sown thinly into these and lightly covered.

When planning the border remember that large blocks of the same colour look better than a lot of smaller patches.

The other way is to sow individual seeds into modules, (plastic compartment trays), this way you can use less seed and have more control over the planting and you do not have to thin out the plants in the border. Modules can be placed outside for the seeds to germinate.

Hardy annuals hate root disturbance and do not transplant well, so any thinnings lifted from the border are not worth saving.

When the plants start growing, staking early using small branches and twigs, will provide a more natural support for the plants to grow through. Plastic hoops can also be bought raising them higher as the plants grow and these can be used year after year.

Hardy Annuals

• Cleome Hassleriana
(see photo above)
• Calendula
• Centaurea Cyanus(Cornflower)
• Clarkia elegans
• Coreopsis
• Eschscholzia californica(California Poppy)
• Gaillardia
• Godetia
• Gypsophila elegans
• Iberis (Candytuft)
• Sweet Pea
• Limnanthes Douglasii(Poached Egg Plant)
• Matthiola bicornis (Night Scented Stock)
• Poppy
• Nasturtium

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