What We Are Sowing - May
I can’t believe that we are nearly through May! Wow, this year is running away fast! We are still super busy in the flower garden and now that our gardening groups and open days are up and running, we’ve had loads of amazing women helping us to develop and maintain the flower garden. We’ve got lots in the ground now, but still lots to sow and lots to care for in the greenhouse.
In May, we are sowing the half-hardy annual flowers. These are flowers that germinate, grow, flower and die in one season, but that do not like the frost. They can’t handle the cold, so that is why we sow them later in the season and keep them sheltered before planting them out. At Bloom we sow our half-hardy annuals in seed trays and pot them on, all in the greenhouse. It is not until they are big strong plants that we start to acclimatise them to the outside by hardening them of for a few days, before planting them out in their final positions. Some of my favourite flowers are half-hardy annuals, because they are often brightly coloured and tropical looking! Below is just a selection of seeds that we are sowing in the Bloom garden in May.
Zinnia
Zinnia are beautiful flowers that are native to Mexico (that explains why they don’t like the cold!) They grow fairly tall (about 75cm) so are excellent for cut flowers or to use in borders. Zinnias like full sun and well drained soil, so make sure to consider that when choosing their final growing spot. There are loads of different colours and varieties of zinnia and really are a perfect addition to a summer garden.
Amaranthus
The variety pictured above is called ‘Hot Biscuit’. Amaranthus are the thespians of the cutting garden. They are such dramatic plants and so unusual, it’s just impossible to resist their charm. They grow to be fairly bushy plants and come in a range of colours - the most popular being red, lime green and the yellow/brown shown above. They are easy to cultivate, able to tolerate poor soil and don’t require a lot of watering.
Sunflowers
One of my favourite flowers! Such variety in colours, size, shape and texture. Go and explore all the different kinds of sunflowers and experiment with a new variety this summer. This year we have chosen some more branching varieties of sunflower, due to the fact that they are easier to manage in bouquets. The picture above is Helianthus ‘Italian White’ which has gorgeous buttery white petals and a contrasting chocolate brown centre. We are also growing ‘Ms Mars’ and ‘Autumn Beauty’.
Cosmos
We are also sowing our second lots of cosmos, so we can get a succession of flowers throughout the late summer. We are growing ‘Double Click’, ‘Purity’ and ‘Xanthos’. We have written a blog post all about growing cosmos if you’re interested and want to find out more about this lovely flower.