On the 2nd of September I sowed up a bed of hardy annuals. As I get more experienced in this annual flower growing malarky I have tended to start sowing my Autumn seeds earlier than usually recommended by the well known seed companies on their packets.
Sowing in Autumn is always somewhat hit and miss, but well worth the effort (Read: 5 Swimmingly Good Reasons To Sow Up A Flower Patch In Autumn) but even down here in Cornwall my late September sown seeds don’t seem to do as well as the ones sown in either late August or early September. NB I am referring to direct sowing into the soil.
The following photos I think reflect that even when sowing into warm soil in early September, it can still take a while for seedlings to appear. This rabble have all taken six weeks to get to this size from sowing, even with this wonderful Indian summer.
Godetia LOVE an Autumn sowing and will become much taller than their spring sown cousins.
Larkspur can be fickle creatures..they can also take yonks to get started and often seed beds get hoed up by impatient gardeners…once they get going they rocket up.
This year I sowed a block of Nigella…about a foot wide and seven foot long. They have come up nicely but will need a bit of thinning out in the spring.
Mr Briza seems very happy with an Autumn sowing…good on him.
Remember to keep your Autumn sown bed weeded…native weeds WILL out compete your flower seedlings if left to get on with it…British weeds ROCK!
Kind regards
Benjamin Higgledy