Hope you have all been enjoying the sunshine this week, it has felt like a long cold grey winter this year so I’ve been rejoicing in this weather, in fact it was crazily warm at the weekend but back to normal now. Yes its still a bit chilly in the mornings but its just been so good to see the sun and feel that warmth coming through. Things are stirring in the garden, there have been plenty of bees buzzing around, a couple of big bumblebees bumbling around my garden especially loving the Hellebores. Already the flower year is moving on, the snowdrops are going over now and being followed by the first daffodils. The first shoots of the hardy perennials are emerging and finally the garden has hints of green in the borders. The grass is starting to grow again and soon will be ready for its first cut which always feels good. Out in the countryside the Hawthorn hedges are just showing that first hint of green, I always feel that at this time of year we are going from monochrome back into technicolour, like the bit in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy goes from black and white into the bright and beautiful colours of Oz.
Things are all abuzz in my cutting garden now, the autumn sown annuals are getting big and beefy now and I’ve been hardening them off from the greenhouse and getting ready to plant them. So that’s the Cornflowers, Echium ‘Blue Bedder’, Corncockle, Orlaya grandiflora, Candytuft ‘Crown’, Cerinthe, Salvia ‘Oxford Blue’, Papaver nudicale and Ammi visnaga. 
I’ve already planted some of the Ranunculus into a raised bed which is covered for protection and they are coming on nicely. 
I’m also preparing the ground for my autumn sown sweet peas. They are hungry plants so a nice big layer of manure will give them nutrients and also keep the moisture in the soil. I need to put up the bamboo support too which always takes longer than I think! I’ve pricked out some of the seeds I sowed in February, including Larkspur, Gaura, Knautia, Feverfew, Dahlias ‘Bishops Children’ and ‘Cactus, Snapdragon ‘Lucky Lips’ and a few Scabious including ‘Ping Pong’. 
The Biennials are starting to get growing now too, though I still need to plant my Campanula so need to get a shift on with that. I’ve had lots of self-seeded foxgloves and Forget-me-nots which have been moved around but getting them in their final locations now. But the Honesty, Sweet Rocket, Wallflowers and Sweet William I can see are just starting again into growth after a dormant winter. Excited for when they start flowering, in fact I don’t think it will be very long before the Wallflowers are out, they are usually the first into flower.
The perennial cutting patch is all cut back and mulched, this bed contains various Origanums, Geums, Sanguisorbas, Knautia, Chives and Astrantias. 
But its time to really kickstart the seed sowing season for me and I think this has got to be my favourite time of year. The process of seed sowing is just joyous and despite the fact that I’ve been sowing seeds for many years now I never fail to be excited by the first signs of germination. Its such a magic process, little brown dry seeds poked into a pot full of crumbly brown compost, add a sprinkling of water, wait a while and then the little green shoots poking up out of the soil is such a miraculous delight. So I start with some of the hardier annuals first though as its still early, but I do have a greenhouse to give them some protection. So I’m sowing some Calendula, Godetia, Chrysanthemum ‘Rainbow’, Statice, Amaranthus, Gypsophila, Daucus carota, Phacelia and Nigella. The last four I’m going to sow some in seed trays but also have a go at sowing some directly into the soil. I’m also going to do a first sowing of some Phlox and Rudbeckia which though are half hardy annuals have quite a long growing season, these will be put on my windowsill for some warmth for germination and kept protected until ready to plant out after the frosts. Others good for sowing now are other hardy annuals, Larkspur, Cornflowers, Corncockle, Ammi majus, Cerinthe, Borage, Briza, Eschscholzia, Echium, Phacelia, Painted Sage. Plus its still not too late to sow some sweet peas, still plenty of time for that.
More detailed information on sowing for each variety can be found in the Higgledy garden seed sowing guide.
Here are some of the seeds I’m sowing now. I’m excited to grow Godetia ‘Crown’ again this year, it was one of my favourites from last year. Especially this arrangement that also had Godetia ‘Memoria’ and some Origanum.
Calendula’s are one of the first to be sown in the seed sowing year, I struggle to get them to survive from an autumn sowing but they are fast and just as good from a early spring sowing. I just adore Calendula ‘Ice Maiden’, here with Calendula ‘Indian Prince’, Chrysanthemum ‘Rainbow’, Cosmos ‘Apricotta’ and other rusty tones of Achillea, Nicotiana ‘Bronze Queen’ and Bupleurum ‘Bronze Beauty’.
Amaranthus Red is another one I get started now, it took me a while but I now love this drama queen, have a look at this blog to find out more. I always thought it would be a challenging one to grow too but its not, its pretty straightforward. They can be sown direct in April, but I sow mine undercover to get them growing well before I plant out. They just look amazing dripping those stunning tassels down the side of a vase and do well with some of the bigger more blousy flowers that you might grow, like Dahlias and Sunflowers. Here with Helianthus ‘Summer Lovin’ and ‘Ruby Eclipse’, Ammi visnaga and Phlox ‘Creme Brulee’.
And here with Dahlia ‘Bacardi’ and ‘Arabian Night’, with Ammi visnaga, Phlox ‘Creme Brulee’ and Panicum ‘Sprinkles’.
Gypsophila, is a lovely airy filler for your bouquets but is quite a delicate plant and can get a bit overwhelmed and bossed about a bit by more robust annuals that you might have in your cutting patch so you need to either give it some space to itself or grow it in some containers. 
Nigella, another great one for sowing now, they definitely prefer direct sowing but they can be sown and pricked out quickly and potted on if you don’t have the space ready just yet. I especially partial to Nigella ‘Delft Blue’.
I also adore Phlox but they can be a little tricksy and slow to germinate and have a weird growing habit and need a bit of pinching out before you get good flowers for cutting. So I’m sowing a few now and will do another one in a few weeks time. Its a half hardy annual so needs protection from the frosts so it will be sown and put on my windowsill inside to germinate. I sow lots of these as I also use them in the big dustbins that I have my Dahlias in as underplanting so I can use plenty of these. There is a blog post about this if you want to have a read. My big favourite is Phlox ‘Creme Brulee’ which goes with so many other flower combinations. 
Just look at it here with Cosmos ‘Apricotta’ and ‘Purity’.
And then here with Helianthus ‘Ruby Eclipse’ and Rudbeckia.
I also love Phlox ‘Sugar Stars’.
And I’ll squeeze in a bit of Phlox ‘Cherry Caramel’!
Rudbeckia are another half hardy annual that I am going to sow some of now, they are tiny seeds and its pretty slow growing so want to give it a head start. Rudbeckia ‘Marmalade’ is such a reliable form.
It goes fabulously with bright blues and purples of Salvia ‘Oxford Blue’ and Larkspur ‘Imperials’ and bright red and orange Zinnia ‘Mammoth’ and ‘Purple Prince’.
But also with a mix of yellows in this arrangement.
I’m holding off from sowing most of my half hardy annuals, like Cosmos, Sunflowers, Zinnias to the end of the month or into April when its warmer and they will grow quick and fast and then be ready to plant out after the frosts.
Just to say though that this is the sowing routine that I seem to have got into in my garden here in the North of England. If you are further south you may want to do things differently and sow somethings earlier, likewise if you are further North you may want to hold off till April for many things. It also depends whether you have got space to protect your seedlings or whether you are planning on sowing directly. Experiment and see what works best for you. If you are not sure just have a go at sowing the more hardy annuals as suggested here and just sow a few seeds (I very rarely sow a full packet of seeds) see how they do if not try again later. But most of the hardy annuals that I’ve suggested here are robust and are reliable to germinate with a bit of warmth, good compost and a bit of care.
Happy Sowing, enjoy the magic of it all!
Higgledy Anne
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