Whether you have an existing garden that needs a little extra color or a space waiting to be turned into the garden of your dreams, either can be done inexpensively and easily with seeds. This is an economical alternative to purchasing grown plants with very little work.
Many seeds don't need to be started inside and actually seem to perform better when planted directly where they are to grow. Some examples would be zinnias, larkspur, morning glory, cleome (aka spider flower), sunflower, nigella, nasturtiums and virtually all the vegetables excluding tomatoes and some of the cold crops.
You can still start seeds out doors and in fact some seeds really shouldn't be sown until the middle or end of May -- seeds like cucumbers, gourds, pumpkins, zinnias, marigolds, and impatiens. If using zinnias, one of the better types is called Blue Point. Blue Point is a newish kind that is very resistant to powdery mildew. Also when planting larkspur, try the new dwarf version that has double flowers and requires no staking. One of the new dwarf forms of cosmos worth trying is called "Sonata". And when doing flowering tobacco check for fragrance, not all varieties have fragrance.
The key to planting annuals is to pick 2 or 3 compatible varieties that will work well color-wise and sew at the right times. Bachelor buttons, cleome, California poppies, larkspur, and flowering tobacco do well when planted with frost, so these can be sown in early May or late fall for the following spring.
Some pleasant combinations are cosmos with cleomes, overplanting your iris beds with California poppies, mixing larkspur with bachelor buttons and nigella, columbine with foxglove, euphorbias with cosmos and cleomes, and forget-me-nots in a bed of tulips and daffodils.
Wildflower mixtures are also best sown directly from seed and usually contain a large variety of plants that give you color throughout the summer. Many, if not all of these mixtures need to be periodically overseeded as some plants do not re-seed and germinate as readily as others from year to year.
If you want to create an inexpensive, and nice group of perennials for next year, you start perennials in the summer. Biennials are also best started in the summer, like foxglove and many of the campanulas. Remember many garden centers take down their seed racks at the end of spring so you may need to buy these seeds in the spring, although many full service garden centers tend to keep their seed racks up longer. Also, many older seed packs are still viable so don't go throwing away those half empty packs -- save them for next year. Most seed is viable for more than 2 years.
Stop by one of your better lawn & garden centers for more information and ideas on planting with seeds. If you have problems in locating seed, feel free to call us for availability. Carroll Gardens can be reached at 1-800-638-6334.
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