At the weekend Ben launched the Bundle to sow in May for slackers and loafers and many of you have gone for it so we thought it would be good to have a bit of a guide for any newbie gardeners or just a refresh for us all. Any slackers and loafers can be pretty smug, as this spring has been so cold and wet that germination has been slow, and even once germinated, seedlings have just been slow to get growing. But fingers crossed now, we are past the worst of the weather, looking ahead it looks to be getting a bit warmer, the light is good, the soil is warm, it just is much better conditions now for sowing and growing seeds for your flower garden.
There are two main ways of sowing seeds, the first option is that you can sow directly into the area that you want them to grow. Here you should prepare the bed by clearing any weeds and raking over so that the soil is nice and loose and friable (posh word for crumbly and light!). Then you can either broadcast sow, this is where you sow seed over the whole area, or you can sow in rows. The advantage of sowing in rows is you can spot any weed seeds that germinate in between the rows and can confidently remove them and not risk weeding out your precious seedlings! You are best to sow more seeds than you need and thin out to the number that you want and the spacings that are appropriate to the plants. You need to keep the area well watered and watch out for slugs and snails.
Just to add a point about where you grow your flowers, most annual flowers need a good sunny spot, some can cope with a bit of partial shade but on the whole they like to bask in the sunshine. The soil needs to be good garden soil, that much quoted gardening term for soil is ‘moist but well-drained’, this might be a challenge for some people with all the rain we have had. But basically seeds don’t want to be sitting around in soggy soil, but hopefully this is getting better in your gardens now.
The other option is that you can sow them in seed trays or pots, let them germinate, prick the seedlings out into larger pots and plant out a more established plant. This often gives you more control on what you grow. I tend to sow slightly more than I need but once germinated just pot up the healthy seedlings and grow them on so that when you come to plant in the final positions you have good sized plants. You can often protect them more from slugs and snails too. At this time of year you don’t need a greenhouse for this you can just grow them outside. On the whole I tend to take the second approach but now that its warmer some things definitely prefer the direct sowing approach.
Full information about sowing can be found in the seed sowing guide but lets just talk about the goodies in the bundle.
The ones that we would recommend for direct sowing are as follows:
Borage that fabulous bee plant, one of the most nectar rich plants that you can grow. This is a good one for sowing direct now. Sow about 1cm deep, they can get tall and big plants so a bit of space in between them, roughly 25cm. Don’t tell Ben I told you this but once you have planted this it often self seeds around. You can use the flowers in your Pimms too!
Climbing Nasturtium is another one perfect for easy-peasy direct sowing, big pea-like seeds, just pop them into the soil, about 2cm deep. Each plant will range around a bit so don’t plant too closely, about 30cm apart. Can be sown in pots and planted out once a bit bigger too.
Ditto Sunflower ‘Valentine’, nice big seed, sow where you want them to flower, keep an eye on slugs while they are little but otherwise super easy and I love these lemon yellow sunflowers, another great one for the bees.
Cornflower ‘Blue Ball’, we are all massive fans of the Cornflowers at Higgledy garden and what could be more lovely than the rich blue of this flower. They are good cut and come again cutflowers. Again these can be very easily sown directly now, best in rows. They should be sown about 1cm deep, maybe sow every 15cm but then you would want to thin to 30cm apart. They can also be sown into pots and planted out once a bit bigger too. These plants get tall so need some support. They become thick with flowers and I often cut low down, taking flowers and buds together which look lovely in natural arrangements. 
Calendula ‘Art Shades’ can also be sown directly now, sow about 1cm deep in rows where you want them to grow. Thin out to about 30cm apart. This is another plant that will often self seed once you have grown it once, we are telling you all the secrets today!
Dill ‘Mammoth’, Night scented stock, Chrysanthemum ‘Rainbow Hippy Love Child’ and Nigella ‘Persian Jewels’ are all best sown directly and are nice and easy, best to broadcast sow these and thin out if need be but they are good mingling plants and will jostle and find their way. Best to thin the Chrysanthemum out to about 25cm apart. 
Zinnia ‘Mammoth’ can be sown directly and they will grow well especially sown now as the soil is warmer, they don’t like disturbance so they can just be grown where you want them to flower. But the one thing about Zinnias is that slugs love them! Do keep an eye on your little seedlings. So you could also sow direct into 9cm pots and just protect them from the critters and then plant them once established. Space about 30cm apart and these should be pinched out to get a bushier plant and more flowers. You need to practice the wiggle test on these if you are cutting for a vase. If when you wiggle the stems and they are floppy they are not ready for cutting wait till they have more rigid stems.
The ones that might be better starting off undercover or in seed trays are as follows.
The lovely Aster ‘Ostrich Plume’, flamboyant frilly flowers in colourful purple and pinks. To hurry them along a bit they can be sown with a bit of warmth either in a greenhouse or a windowsill, both places will be warm enough for germination now. Sow thinly on the surface of the compost in a seed tray or 9cm pot. Once germinated prick out individually into 9cm pots. Plant out in final positions once the risk of frosts has passed. You could also sow directly but you might have more luck with these by sowing in pots.
There are two fabulous Cosmos in this bundle (‘Sensation’ and ‘Purity’) and if I was only going to grow one flower for the summer Cosmos would be the one. They will flower right to the first frosts, and you just have to keep picking them all summer they are just so productive. I could talk about these all day I love them, they have fabulous foliage too and again the bees love them! Oh gosh, they are also one of the quickest seeds to germinate in my experience and grow so fast. You can sow these directly and just follow instructions as for the cornflowers but they are probably best sown in a seed tray and pricked out and potted on so that you can plant a good sized plant in your final spot. These also benefit from pinching out for more flowers! Do this once the plant has about 3 or 4 pairs of leaves, pinch off the top growth down to the next pair of leaves. 
Nicotiana ‘Sensation’ again is another one that I think is probably best sown in a seed tray or pot and grown on before planting out, as the seeds for these are so tiny! Sow very thinly on the surface of the compost, don’t exclude light, you can cover them lightly with vermiculite. Prick out the tiny seedlings, they do get going quite fast once germinated especially in warm conditions. 
But there you go, all are nice and easy and its worth saying that all of these will grow very well in containers too, if growing in the ground you can grow in nice neat rows or you can merge them all together to get a lovely Higgledy mix. You can add amongst the other plants in your borders or grow them in dedicated cutting beds. Just give them a go and you will have flowers for the bees and for you all summer.
Higgledy Anne
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