Top 5 Flowers to grow from seeds

Garden borders and summer containers will be filled with blooms throughout the summer with these top 5 easy to grow flowers from seed. These beginner friendly flower seeds will make you an expert gardener instantly. And with different forms, flower shapes, colour tones & uses, each flower in this selection compliments one another. From easy to grow cut flowers to allotment friendly plants and edible flowers with good garden performance. This list explores the top plant varieties that include all of these desirable garden attributes. 

Here are the top 5 flowers to grow from seed including key garden hints and tips for each variety. 

1. Nasturtium

Latin Name: Tropaeolum

Fun facts about Nasturtium

• Edible flowers add vibrant colour and peppery flavour to salads, soups & garnishes 

• Nasturtium leaves are also edible and can be used like a salad leaf adding a peppery flavour to any culinary dish

• Grow as a summer ground-cover plant or in hanging baskets and patio pots for a trailing plant

• Nasturtium is the perfect plant for attracting pollinators, making it a good companion plant for the allotment where beans, squashes & fruiting plants are being grown

• Pickle the seed pods for a tasty home-grown meal accompaniment 

• Save the seed of Nasturtium for next growing season. Near the end of summer, All leave a few seed pods to mature & harvest as soon as they are plump. Be quick though, the seed pods ‘pop’ themselves to scatter their own seed if left too long

Varieties of Nasturtium to look out for

Nasturtium ‘Jewel Mix’ for super bright orange blooms that catch the eye wherever they are in the garden.

For detailed and artistic petal colours, opt for a bi-colour or striped petal type such as Nasturtium ‘Bloody Mary’.

If the foliage needs to be as pretty as the flower bloom, then try Nasturtium ‘Jewel of Africa’ mix.

How to grow Nasturtium from seed

1) Sow Nasturtium seed from March-June

2) Fill a seed tray with peat free compost, just below halfway & water lightly 

3) Sow the Nasturtium seed evenly across the compost, leaving 2-3cm space around each one

4) Cover the seeds with a layer of compost, filling up to just below the top of the seed tray leaving a small gap 

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5) Give the now filled tray another gentle water and label

6) Place in a warm greenhouse if sowing early or place outside if sowing after the frosts have finished 

2. Cosmos

Latin Name: Cosmos

Growing & using Cosmos flowers

• Grow in cell seed trays February-May in a greenhouse or warm windowsill 

• Cosmos make good cut flowers, the more they are picked the more they will bloom throughout the summer season

• Dry seed pods for home décor at the end of their flowering period

• Look out for double petal types such a ‘Double Click’ series or funnel petaltypes like ‘Seashells’ series when choosing Cosmos varieties as these are best for more details & flamboyant blooms. Go for single petal types for simpler blooms but more flower power

• Sunny and well drained areas of the garden are the ideal place to grow Cosmos

• Plant at the middle or to the back of a border for floral height

• Cosmos are a good container plant for the patio garden too

What Cosmos varieties are there?

Looking into options in more detail here, Cosmos ‘Double Click White’ has large double blooms adding an elegant style to the garden with it’s pure tone. While Cosmos Picotee has flashy light pink blooms with a deep magenta-purple edge for something more fun. This, as the name suggests is a compact Cosmos variety, ideal for smaller gardens or container plantings.

Cosmos ‘Sonata’ or ‘Sensation’ mixed are ideal for good garden performance that’s been tested over time by many gardeners and provides an array of pink, purple & white floral tones.

How to grow Cosmos from seed

Sow the annual cosmos seeds in cellular seed trays filled with peat free ‘seed & seedling’ friendly compost. Push one Cosmos seed gently down approx. 1-2cm into each cell, covering with more compost. Water gently, labelling the tray and place in a warm greenhouse or light and warm windowsill. Place a clear plastic propagator cover over the cellular seed tray to keep the Cosmos seed/seedlings protected from drafts and (if growing in a greenhouse) from mice.

3. Marigold

Latin Name: Tagetes

French or African Marigold, which is best?

For larger, more showy blooms choose the African Marigold varieties. There are vanilla-yellow tones to deep terracotta colour blooms that are shaped like big pom poms. 

If compact and small flowers are preferred, then pick a French Marigold type. With good flower power in vibrant pops of orange, yellow or deep reds and fiery glowing tones the French Marigold is the ideal small garden plant or container flowering annual.

See also  Early June Garden.

Gardening tips for Marigold’s

• Grow alongside Tomatoes for the perfect natural & organic pest control plant

• Flowers can be used in garlands & floral décor- traditionally used for Indian wedding decorations

• Dead heading is key to enhancing & prolonging blooming period

• Once established, the Marigold is a fairly tough plant with slight drought resistance

How to grow Marigolds from seed

1) Sow Marigold seeds from Feb-May.

2) Using a peat free compost, half fill a seed tray and gently water until compost is damp.

3) Lightly sprinkle the Marigold seed across the surface of the compost.

4) Cover with a fine layer of peat free compost and water lightly again to dampen.

5) Label and place in a warm greenhouse or sunny windowsill.

6) When the seeds emerge and adapt into seedlings with 2-3 leaflets showing, transplant the seedlings into large cell trays (1 per cell) or individual pots filled with peat free compost.

7) Ensure to keep the compost damp from sowing through to planting out in the garden.

4. Cornflower

Latin Name: Centaurea 

Tips for growing Cornflowers 

• Add a pop of blue & mauve tones to a wildflower meadow by adding scatterings of Cornflower seeds to a no-mow area in your garden

• Self-seeding annual, basically the Cornflower seed heads pop when mature at the end of their growing season lying dormant in the soil until it’s time to grow again

• Easy to sow seeds, directly into the ground from April-May

• A small cut flower making Cornflowers ideal for posies

How to grow Cornflower from seed

For a naturalised display of blooms, sow in patches throughout your garden border. Clear the soil of weeds and big stones/debris in the areas where you have chosen to sow the Cornflower seed. Then simply sprinkle small amounts of the seeds over these prepared areas. Either leave with no covering of soil or sprinkle a fine handful of compost over the seeds just to cover slightly. Water using a fine spray to dampen but not soak the area. Water lightly when the soil is dry, keeping the area damp throughout the Cornflower’s growing period. Sow Cornflower seed between March – May.

Getting the best from Cornflower blooms

Successional sowings, meaning to sow seeds over a period of weeks, will extend the growing and flowering period for your Cornflower displays.

Did you know that Cornflower blooms make for a good dried flower? Either snip the heads off when they are newly fully in bloom and lay on a tray or plate in a warm but dark position until dry. Or cut further down the flowering stem, bundle in small posies and hang in a dry low light place (a shed is ideal). Hanging the bundles upside down for best results. 

See also  Problems with Squashes and Pumpkins.

5. Calendula

Latin Name: Calendula officinalis 

Wellness & planting facts for Calendula

• Calendula is a good companion plant for edibles in the garden. It helps keep pests away from the vegetable garden with its unique scent

• Grow flowers for wellbeing, dried Calendula petals can be added to baths and scrubbing salts for earthy scents and aromatherapy purposes

• Dry the flower petals for pot-pourri projects, adding a botanical earthy fragrance

• Calendula’s are good value for money plants in the garden, the more they are dead headed, the more they bloom. Flowering up until the first frost

• Calendula is said to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties

• Make herbal teas using the dried petals of Calendula

• It’s easy to save the seed for next years sowings. Allow odd flower heads to naturally drop their petals, so the seeds can be produced and ripen. Harvest when dry and keep seed in an airtight container

How to grow Calendula from seed direct in the garden

1. Sow Calendula seeds from March-May

2. Prepare the area where the Calendula seeds are to be sown by pulling out any weeds, removing any large stones and gently forking over the soil to break it up into a finer texture.

3. Make drills using the side of a garden hand fork by dragging it through the soil in lines/circles. Creating a depth in the soil ready for the seeds to be sown with ease.

4. Sow about 3-4cm apart into the seed drills.

5. Cover the seed with the soil built up from making the drills, lightly covering and patting the surface gently but firmly to secure in place.

6. Water using a fine rose attachment on a watering can ensuring the soil is nicely damp.

7. Keep the soil damp (not wet) throughout the growing cycle, especially while seeds are germinating and growing from seedlings into more mature plants.

The best garden flower displays

By sowing and growing just these top 5 flowers, the creation of a flower-filled summer garden can be achieved with ease. A myriad of colourful blooms, shapes, heights and usescan enhance the outdoor space, just in these 5 species.

For enjoyment outside and bringing the garden inside, all 5 of these top flowers to grow from seed can provide not only beautiful garden displays but provide harvests for uses in and around the home. Whether homemade treats or handmade crafts, these easy flowers to grow from seed can enhance wellness from their uses as well as their garden beauty.

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