Little chinks of brightness are appearing, its just that little bit lighter in the mornings and evenings, you can garden till 5pm on sunny days here now. The birds are really starting to sing again, we are serenaded from the bathroom window by the Robin singing its heart out in the dark. There are plenty of signs of life in the garden too, the snowdrops are nodding there delicate heads, their underlying toughness hidden away inside that simple flower. They keep flowering on even the coldest days. Little cyclamen coum adding a splash of bright pink to the otherwise mostly browns and greys. I’ve been doing a bit of tidying up in the perennial borders, cutting back and clearing a few leaves and there is already signs of life, little shoots emerging from the soil for the spring flowering perennials. There are buds on the Pulmonarias and the Primula flowers are emerging from the those green wrinkly leaves. Hellebores, another tough cookie, I’ve got a few now and they are shining out, some still in bud stage but some in full flower. I always worry when we have had a hard frost they droop down but miraculously stand up straight again once its warmed up.
In the cutting garden, I’m trying to keep on top of things, my autumn sown hardy annuals are looking good despite the cold, I’ve repotted some and nipped out some top growth. I’ve got the usual ones I sow Cornflowers, Corncockle, Cerinthe, Ammi visnaga, Orlaya grandiflora and also a few that I’ve tried for the first time like Candytuft ‘Crown’ and Salvia viridia ‘Oxford Blue’ both of which seem to be growing well. Sweet peas are all looking good and I’ve planted some Ranunculus into the little mini polytunnel.
Its still too early to sow many things, Sweet peas can be sown, have you done yours yet? See the January blog post for a few hints and tips. But from mid to end of February I do make a bit of a start, most will go on my windowsill in the front bedroom. There is a radiator under it so it gets some warmth and it gets some sun too in the afternoon, its bright and seedlings once germinated need all the light they can get at this time of year. More information on seed sowing can be found in the Higgledy seed sowing guide. There is not much space on the windowsill so I’d rather leave most things till it gets a bit warmer but there are a few things that I’d like to get started. 
I’m starting my Cobaea scandens, this is a real beauty but I guess its a little bit of a diva that needs quite a bit of cossetting and encouragement to get it to bloom well. You need space in your garden to grow this, it likes to scramble and according to Sarah Raven they need to grow over 2m before they will flower well, they can easily do this in a growing season. I had a fabulous year of growing them in 2023, they scrambled all over my old chicken run and I had masses of flowers. Last year, not quite as successful, we had such a cold late spring that they just didn’t get growing quick enough and I just had a few blooms, before the frosts came. I’m ‘up north’ so it would definitely be much easier to grow the further south you go but I just think the trick is to get them sown early and keep them growing fast and healthy and you will do well with them. You just have to be aware that if you sow them now you will have to keep them warm and protected until after the frosts and once they germinate they will grow fast and will get big so you need the space. So how to sow it, they are lovely big seeds, like discs, so I sow them into modules, fill the modules with a good peat free compost and inserting the disc down into the compost not flat, so that any water will run off them and not sit on top of the seed and potentially rot it. I water from below by sitting the modules in a tray of water and allowing the water to soak into the compost. 
Then it goes somewhere warm, on a windowsill or a heated propagator and it should germinate in a couple of weeks. Once they have got going in the module they will need potting on into 9cm pots. Then really it depends on the weather and how cold it is but I often then pot them into 11cm pots and they will need a small stake at this stage once they start to twine and climb. I’ve usually moved them into my unheated greenhouse by this time where they are protected from frosts.
Then hopefully they can be planted out in the garden May time. They need good rich garden soil and kept well watered and then hopefully they should romp away. Obviously they need some climbing support, probably need more than a wigwam. They have twining growth so once they are started you don’t need to do much tying in, they may just need a bit of guidance early on to get them growing where you want them. I grew it up my old chicken run so this was chicken wire and they seemed to like that. They covered the whole area and over the top. Its always so exciting when they start to flower from those wacky buds.
I was still picking from mine in November but they will get caught by any early frosts.
I’m also getting started with Larkspur, these need a bit of a cold spell to break the dormancy in the seed, so will sow mine in seed trays and leave them in a my unheated greenhouse and allow them to get a bit cold and then once it warms up they will germinate. If you want to bypass this stage just put the seed packet in the fridge for a week or so before sowing. I love the vibrant blues that you get in the Larkspur ‘Imperials’ seed mix. Plus we have Larkspur ‘Hyacinth Mix’ which has double and semi-double flowers. I sow them in a seed tray, into peat-free compost, cover lightly with compost or vermiculite. Then once germinated, which can take over a month, they are pricked out into modules or 9cm pots. 
They can then be planted out in early May. They do get tall so will need some support. They will then flower from July until the frosts if you keep picking them.
Here with some other lovely blues, Salvia ‘Oxford Blue’, Echium ‘Blue Bedder’, Cornflower ‘Mauve Ball’, Sweet pea ‘Noel Sutton’ and ‘Nimbus’, plus lovely Feverfew.
If you have somewhere warm to propagate in you can also start sowing your Snapdragon seeds now, Snapdragon ‘Lucky Lips’ is a real standout flower! These are small seeds and are quite slow to get growing so sowing them now will give them a headstart. These need to be surface sown onto a seed tray as they need some light for germination. Prick out the tiny seedlings in modules or 9cm pots. Plant out in final position once frosts have passed, these are half-hardy annuals so won’t survive any frosts.
The other seeds I’m sowing are some perennials, again many of these need a long growing season if you want them to flower this year. The Dahlias (‘Bishops Children’ and ‘Cactus’) are easy, sow thinly on the surface of peat-free compost in seed trays or in 9cm pots and cover lightly with more compost. They need a bit of warmth but they germinate quickly and can be individually pricked out and potted on into 9cm pots. They shouldn’t be planted outside till all risk of frosts have passed. 
The other hardy perennials (Chrysanthemum ‘Crazy Daisy’, Echinacea ‘Primadonna Pink’, Feverfew and Gaura ‘The Bride’ all have similar requirements. Sow thinly on the surface of peat-free compost in a seed tray and don’t cover as they need light to germinate or you can cover with a thin layer of vermiculite. Germination can be slow and bit erratic, with some germinating before the others. If you get no germination they may need some cold stratification to break the seed dormancy. So put them somewhere cold for a couple of weeks and then bring them back into the warmth again. Or you can cheat and put the packet of seed in the fridge for a couple of weeks before sowing. Knautia ‘Melton Pastels’ is also said to need a cold spell to break the dormancy so you could also use the fridge trick on this seed too. Though actually mine germinated fine without it last year. Again this needs surface sowing. 
Knautia ‘Melton Pastels’ with Astrantia ‘Buckland’, Corncockle ‘Bianca’, Orlaya grandiflora and Ranunculus. 
I have a lovely double Feverfew that seeds around my garden and use it lots as filler in my bouquets. Here with pink and white Canterbury bells, Cornflowers and Astilbe. 
So just a few things to think about sowing later this month. Then once March comes I will be sowing some hardy annuals, all the C’s Calendulas, Cornflowers, Corncockles, Cerinthe, Chrysanthemum ‘Rainbow’. Ammi majus, Godetia, Salvia viridis, Phacelia, Nigella, so much to choose from. I won’t sow any of the half hardy annuals, like Cosmos and Sunflowers till end of March into April. Still got plenty of time but good idea to get your seeds ordered and ready!
Higgledy Anne
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