The Joy of Autumn Sowing
Finally some rain, I hope you have had some too, the garden is sighing with relief though it will need quite a bit more for it to properly perk up. How long do you think it will be before we start complaining about the rain again? We are a fickle bunch us gardeners! As I said in my previous post it really has been a challenge in the cutting garden this year due to the drought. Some things have really struggled and we though we don’t actually have a hosepipe ban here I still have been very careful with my watering. The only real disappointment though has been my Zinnias, they have been a bit of a fail. I have to put them in the sunniest spot as in previous summers they just haven’t flowered well in any shade but then this year they have just baked. You can’t win. They have flowered but the flowers have been alot smaller than they should be. Oh well you live and learn. But I’m straight on to thinking about next year now, I’ve already been through my seed boxes and chucked some old seeds out and made a list of things I might need to order. Looking back through my photos and diary to see what has been successful and what I’d like to have in my cutting garden next year.
First on the to do list is plan my autumn sowing seed list. If you are new to the idea of seed sowing in the autumn then I’ll explain a little about why its so useful. So firstly not everything can be sown in the autumn, what we are talking about here are the hardy annuals that will survive a winter. This may depend where you are in the country and I’ve had to experiment a bit with things in my garden. Obviously it also depends how cold a winter we get and I’ve found that its when we get real prolonged frosts that there are most losses. I also have the advantage of having a greenhouse though it is completely unheated and has been down to minus 10-12 in some recent winters. I accept that there may be some losses but on the whole I’ve had great success with autumn sowing and now know which plants are really tough and withstand even the harshest winter. Its called autumn sowing but you really need to get them sown before autumn really kicks in so I tend to sow in early to mid September, the soil will still be warm and hopefully there will be more moisture about. 
The real advantage though is that they will be bigger, sturdier plants that will usually have taller flowers and will flower earlier than any spring sown varieties. So you don’t have that spring gap. I don’t tend to sow directly into the beds in my garden but I am going to have a go at sowing the September sow meadow mix. Here I will just clear the area and just broadcast sow the area I want to cover, cover light with compost and keep an eye on them once germinated. Thin out a bit if the seedlings are too close together.
For most other seeds I prefer to sow in seed trays or modules, prick out and pot on into 9cm pots as needed, but my advice would be to just work out what works best for you. Just sow some of the seed, then wrap it up and save it, you can save the extra seed for a spring sowing. Once the seedlings develop I prick them out into 9cm pots and only prick out the number that I need (plus a few extras). I have an unheated greenhouse and can give them some protection over winter but it has been down to minus 10 degrees in there over the last couple of winters so it can still get very cold. Try and keep them cool and even temperatures so that they grow steadily and then if we do have the odd early frost you feel they can cope with it. For more details on sowing the specific varieties see the Higgledy Garden Seed sowing guide.
So my real favourite and by far the most resilient are the Cornflowers, a wrote a blog about them in more detail earlier in the year. From an autumn sowing you get big chunky plants (see photo above) that grow nice a tall and start flowering in May and will keep going until at least July, longer if you are demon about deadheading them. You can grow them in rows in your cutting garden or dot them about your borders, they have lovely attractive silvery foliage. I pick lovely long stems including buds which are really beautiful in your arrangements too. I love the true blue of Cornflower ‘Blue Ball’ and the deep purple almost black Cornflower ‘Black Ball’. But for a fabulous mix of colours Cornflower ‘Classic Magic’ has a mix of purple, lilacs and mauves and Cornflower ‘Classic Romantic’ has a mix of pinks and whites.
Corncockle, what delicate beauties but tough as old boots in the garden, my kind of plant, they have withstood the worst that winter can throw at them in my garden. I grow the lovely dark pink form and a couple of cultivars ‘Bianca’ and ‘Rose pink’.
Here in an arrangement with Canterbury Bells, Orlaya grandiflora, Echium ‘White Bedder’ and Alchemilla mollis.
The Ammis, are great for autumn sowing and Ammi majus especially gets really tall so they will need some support. I do prefer Ammi visnaga, its got nicer foliage, is a shorter stockier plant and smaller flowers which are easier to use in arrangements so I grow more of those but I do make a space for a few Ammi majus plants to go in at the back of a border. Here is Ammi majus from an autumn sowing.
Ammi visnaga, shorter and stockier but lovely foliage too. Also a bit later flowering, usually starting as the Ammi majus is starting to flag. I use Ammi visnaga as a filler in lots of arrangements in the summer it is just fabulous.
Daucus carota, as you might imagine with being a wild carrot has a big tap root so does well from direct sowing in the autumn and grows into nice tall plants for the summer. Another lacy umbellifer its pure white flowers often have a small red flower right in the centre of the umbel, said to help attract insects. I’m campaigning to get Ben to stock Daucus carota ‘Dara’ which is an absolutely divine form with dark red flowers.
It also looks beautiful as it starts setting seed as the flower starts curling in on itself to create a little basket.
Nigella, another great one for direct sowing, we have a few different varieties at Higgledy including a pure white form, Nigella ‘Alba’ and one with shades of blue, Nigella ‘Oxford Blue’ but I do have to say my favourite is Nigella ‘Delft Lace’ which has white flowers daubed in shades of blue and black.
Larkspur are a perfect candidate for autumn sowing and Ben had great success from sowing these directly last year. I prefer to sow in a seed tray, prick out and pot on just so I have more of control on the numbers. They can sometimes germinate a bit erratically but I have to say the last few years I’ve had no such problems. I love these flowers with their spiky forms that add a great dimension to your arrangements. Here is Larkspur ‘Imperials’ with Feverfew, Sweet peas, Cornflower ‘Mauve Ball’, Echium ‘Blue Bedder’ and Salvia ‘Oxford Blue’.
Salvia ‘Oxford Blue’, a another star of the arrangement above, I had good success with autumn sowing for this last year in my first year of trying so I will be giving this a go again. I love this for its fabulous deep blue bracts and we also have Salvia viridis which comes in a range of colours.
Here in a vibrant arrangement with Zinnia ‘Purple Prince’ and Zinnia ‘Mammoth’, Rudbeckia ‘Marmalade and Larkspur ‘Imperials’. 
Candytuft ‘Crown’ was another flower I tried last year from autumn sowing and it grew really well in a small patch with Orlaya grandiflora.
Here it is in an arrangement with Cornflower ‘Black Ball’, Sweet William ‘Nigricans’, Knautia ‘Melton Pastels’ and Alchemilla mollis.
Orlaya, another delicate flower that you think you might need to mollycoddle but no, this is truly resilient. You need nice fresh seed so I save my own now every year so I know its nice and fresh. We don’t sell the seeds at Higgledy unfortunately but I just wanted to highlight another great annual for autumn sowing.
The above I’ve found to be all really tough and reliable, but there are a few which I will mention that can sometimes be borderline hardy for me. I’m in the north of England and I’m sure my garden feels sometimes like its in a frost pocket. So if you are in the south of England and have a more sheltered garden you will be fine. In fact you are likely shouting at the screen saying these are perfectly hardy for me. But I’m just going from my own experiences. They all have quite fleshy foliage and can succumb to a very prolonged frost that lasts more than a few days. I will always give them a go as if they do come through they are fantastic for earlier flowers.
Cerinthe for some people this is really reliable autumn sown, but I have lost it one year when it was really cold. But it is always worth a try for me as if they do come through you get lovely early foliage for your arrangements. Plus early nectar for the bees as they love this plant.
Calendula are fantastic for their early cheery flowers. I love the vibrant Calendula ‘Indian Prince’ but even more of a sucker for Calendula ‘Snow Princess’ which its pale lemon yellow which I love pairing with blues. But together they look great in this orange/bronze tinted arrangement.
Godetia ‘Crown’ on the whole is great for me, think I’ve only lost it one very cold winter but this is just such a great pink with such long flowering blooms.
So some of my favourites for autumn sowing, hope its inspired you to give it a go. Check the Higgledy Garden Shop for some halfprice offers on hardy annuals for autumn sowing and also the September sow meadow mix.
Happy autumn sowing!
Higgledy Anne
(I’m on Instagram anne_hinks if you fancy a follow)