I want this post to be a true beginners guide to selecting and sowing cut flowers. Starting the years flowers is daunting. So much rides on the opening of the first seed packet.
There are a lot of ‘experts’ out there. I often find they try and scare you with facts and information. It’s off putting. I’m here (not as an expert) but as someone who has found my peace and self in the garden. I want you to have some of what I’ve found. It’s inspired me to write a beginners guide to seed sowing.
Let’s roll up our sleeves!
So this is going to be THE YEAR you start your cut flower garden! Congratulations, it’s a great life choice. One that will take you on highs and lows, once hooked you’ll never be the same. The biggest thing to know before you start is things will go wrong. It’s fine, it’s no reflection of you as a person. It’s nature – keep going as you’ll be rewarded with more beauty than your eyes will be able to process!
First you need to choose some seeds to grow. You can go down a few routes with this. I am an avid reader/collector of flower books. I’d like my own to be among them one day – just putting it out there. I always refer back to The Cut Flower Patch : Grow your own cut flowers all year round by Louise Curley. It’s a great starter book with simple planting combinations and flower types. The second book is Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden :
Go through the books and see what flowers stand out. I’d try and start with about 10 different varieties. Now you can buy them – yay!
Another option would be to hop on over to the FANASTIC Chiltern Seeds website. If you create an account you have the option of making a wish list. I do this often. I add every variety that catches my eye and then edit down to a few varieties. If I’m doing a wedding with a certain colour palette. I can add my variety of flower in the colour of the wedding and make a tight list. For example you might want a yellow patch. You could add yellow Cosmos, Snap Dragons, Dill and Sunflowers to your basket. If you wanted a pink patch you could get the same varieties but in pink (apart from the Dill).
The list is long but some of my favourite cut flowers to grow are…Sweet Peas, Feverfew, Amaranth, Dahlia’s, Sunflowers, Cornflowers, Snap Dragons, Strawflowers and Cosmos
Now your seeds have turned up. Obviously, you ordered waaay more than ten seed packets, now overwhelm has kicked in.
The seed packets, generally give a three month seed planting window, for example, Feb – April. I always take the middle month as a guide. March in the case of my example. Lay the packets out in piles of the ‘mid-month’. Stash those that aren’t for the month you are in. I keep mine a box with month dividers and then work through the month as and when I can. At each step the aim is to keep it really simple. Depending on how much time you have, it’s better to sow a few seeds rather than all at once. Don’t forget these seeds will grow into plants that need space!
Try to sow a mix of different flower shapes and filler flowers. I was asked on Instagram about filler flowers. My favourites are – Ammi (try a few different varieties to see what works best), penny cress, orach, fever few and fennel.
I’ll cover potting on if needed. Personally it’s my least favourite part so might avoid it!!!
The seeds are sorted and you are ready to get sowing. If you can, get a zippy greenhouse but a warm windowsill will do just as well. Most seeds (there are always exceptions) need a steady stream of light and warmth to germinate. As my greenhouse is a bit leaky, I often start my seeds in the kitchen. If you are starting seeds on window sills look for specific seed trays/propagators that can fit a small space. Once you have your basic kit, you’ll have it for years. Before I start sowing I always give my seed trays a good clean in hot soapy water.
My basic seed sowing kit would be:
Mini Seed trays (with holes)
Gravel tray (without holes) These should hold two mini seed trays or one big
A big tray – Useful for sowing and soaking
Propagator lids – I like the ones with vents
Multipurpose compost – You can get so many different types, I usually order mine in bulk from a local garden centre
Now it’s time to get sowing. All you really need to remember is Soil, Soak, Sow.
First mix together compost and vermiculite. I usually fill a bucket with a ratio of 60% compost to 40% vermiculite. This always depends on how much of each I have. After a few goes you’ll work out what’s best for your seeds. Don’t over think it.
Take a big tray and fill with empty seed trays. Then add your compost mix to the seed trays. You want to trays to be full but not over flowing. Give them a tap to settle the soil and place in a gravel tray with a few centimetres of water in. The soil will wick the water up making it moist. Don’t saturate the soil, you want it to feel springy like a sponge cake. If it gets too soggy tip some water out of the gravel tray.
Now open that first seed packet. Each packet will give you slightly different instructions. Some seeds will need light to germinate others not. Take your instructions from the packet and sow accordingly. It’s tempting to over sow but try and hold off. Too many seeds in a tray leads to weaker plants. A note on tray size – small seeds, small tray, big seeds, big tray!
Don’t forget to label them!
That’s it, now all you have to do is wait for them to germinate. Keep an eye on the seeds trays, if it suddenly gets hot (we can only hope) give the tray underneath a top up of water rather than watering from the top.
I really hope you find this post useful. Find more over on my @lottsandlots Instagram page . I have made a handy reel to go with this post for action shots! Happy Sowing Friends.
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