Growing flowers & perennials from seeds can be a daunting experience. Whilst vegetables are easy to grow from seed, flowering plants and perennials can be a bit hit & miss with low germination rates, warmer temperature requirements & having to wait, sometimes months for the seeds to sprout.

But even with all these challenges, growing flowers from seeds is certainly worth a try. There is a wider selection of plants available in seed & there is great saving to be made if you learn how to successfully propagate flowers from seed.

Over the Summer we will be growing our own flowers from seed & we will keep you up to date with our progress from seeding to transplanting & finally to flowering!

The first and possibly most difficult step is choosing what to grow. The variety of flowers available in seed is of course, almost endless. If you are trying to decide what to grow, then below is a list of some of the easier flowers to grow from seed.

• Aquilegia
• Aubrietia
• Bergenia
• Chrysanthemum
• Dianthus Seeds
• Lavender
• Lupins
• Marigold
• Nasturtium
• Saxifrage
• Sunflower
• Sweet Pea
• Carex Seeds (Bronze Curls)
• Stipa Tenuissima

The list above is a great starting point for anyone new to growing flowers from seed and it is from this list that we will start our own flowering garden this year.

We will choose a selection for plants with the aim of planting up a flower bed 5m long & 1m wide in a sunny location. Ideally we want a mix of colour, height & texture. We also want some plants that will offer year round structure to the garden and for that we might add some box balls or dwarf hebes, although we won’t be growing these from seed!

The best time of year to start sowing flower seeds will depend on your own specific growing area. Ideally you need a bright & warm location indoors or a heated greenhouse to start your seeds. Because of the specific requirements of these seeds you would also need a heated propagator to ensure a quick & reliable germination.

Sowing Our Flower Seeds
We have chosen 24 cell trays with a John Innes compost mix. We watered the soil before sowing & then followed the specific sowing instructions for each seed. Many of our flower seed varieties require light to germinate therefore when we sow the seed we simply place the seeds on the soil surface, lightly press the seed onto the soil & then covered the seed over with a fine layer of vermiculite.

The vermiculite is light & airy and will let light pass, but it will also help to retain vital moisture to ensure the seeds don’t dry out.

Two of the biggest challenges with growing flowers is under & over watering. If you use John Innes potting soil #1 or a John Innes compost, then you will have the best soil properties for growing seeds.

These soils ensure that seeds have a good balance of air & moisture making watering your seeds that bit easier. If you use a compost or peat compost then your seeds are more prone drying or being waterlogged.

Once the seeds have been sown we can label them up & place the trays in the propagator.