Growing flowers from seed

Find an independent nursery, buy some plants and seeds from them when it's not too busy and talk to them. They will help you choose, advise you, they will be great.

I used to raise seedlings by sowing seeds in seed raising mix in planter trays. Cover them till you see the beginnings of growth then take the cover off and when they've got two leaves prick them out into pots . I'm too lazy to do that now and buy seedlings from the plant shop!

When you find the answer, Luckygirl, would you let me know. Every year I plant seeds, watch them start to grow, kill them off and go to buy ready grown ones from the shops. Sometimes I kill them off too! My husband cringes at the beginning of Spring, I always start with renewed optimism.

Hello Luckygirl and good morning! Welcome to the world of the joy of gardening which I have now found is completely different to just gardening. I take my hat off to you and wish you success with growing from seed. I admit to complete failure in that zone. I now buy mostly plugs and appreciate the success rate by comparison. I let the professionals do the difficult and reap the rewards of their skills and patience. I would never have believed that little old me would end up with a garden that gives me so much pleasure (and hard graft!) after being reared in a city flat with neither ownership, access or interest. Just wonderful and I'm so grateful. May your green fingers go from success to success. Bravo!

GranEd - love that!!!

Thanks for all your help folks!

Have a look at the RHS website - lots of info on there. Enjoy your gardening!

One way of marking a patch is to mix some sand with the seeds before you scatter them. Once the seedlings appear you can protect the area with some sticks to stop you treading on them or accidentally pulling them up. You will still get weeds but with a little practice you'll be able to identify the seedlings and leave them alone. They'll eventually need thinning out though.

how do you tell the little seedlings from weeds when they first come up!?

You should be able to tell once they get their first true leaves. If in doubt leave it a bit longer and see what develops. Rogues should be easy enough to pull up when they're still small.

I've never had any success with scattering seeds. I have self seeders that grow like weeds (especially in a gravelled area) but deliberate seed scattering results in .... zilch

Growing perennials from seed is very satisfying, especially when you see the price of plants in garden centres.. A nice thing about them is that you don't have to keep sowing them every year .

When we were first married I bought a packet of seeds,scattered them outside,watered regularly and carefully followed all the instructions.
I was thrilled but a little disappointed when only one little plant surfaced. However I continued to water and feed it and it eventually flowered ..........the world’s most pampered buttercup!!!! ?
Hope you have more success than me Luckygirl

I like the idea of scattering seeds and I too like a jumble rather than a formal garden.........but how do you tell the little seedlings from weeds when they first come up!?

At the moment I m growing chillis from seed on my kitchen window sill I have an empty (washed out) lotion spray bottle that I water them with every other day, Other seeds get scattered in the garden ( I love wild gardens as opposed to manicured gardens) and left to their own devices I ve got three different types of poppies, marigolds, cornflowers foxgloves and sweet pease that all come from last years flowers and were scattered I also cleaned the back alley and threw marigold and poppies along the side I thought the kids that come through the alley can pick them for their mums

Oh great - lots of thanks to you all. I have just pushed the boat out and ordered the book!!

If growing annuals, make a note of whether they are hardy, half hardy or tender. Hardy annuals can be sown in the late summer or early autumn. They will make a sturdy little plant that should overwinter successfully unless the winter is really extreme. They will flower early in the following year.

Half-hardy annuals don't like frost and won't overwinter in a frosty area but can survive a few cold nights in the spring. Tender annuals won't survive any frost so shouldn't be planted out until all risk of frost is past.

You can use your cold frame to harden off tender plants before planting out.

This is a really useful book....and cheap!

Some seeds need soaking, others need extreme cold before they will germinate. It’s easy to check the conditions on the internet.
Invest in a hand spray to keep the seed compost moist. Normal watering techniques will flood the seeds an young plants.
At the moment you could sow foxgloves, sweet Williams and Lupins they will take till next year to flower. They be ok outside in a raised sheltered spot and then put in the cold frame to overwinter.

Luckygirl, it very much depends on which seeds you are planting. If you pop into your local garden centre or Morrisons you will find stands of both vegetable and flower seeds. Look on the back of the packets you want to sow and you'll find a chart with coloured blocks indicating best times to sow and when to expect flowers to bloom or vegetables to be ready for use. The great thing is that you'll save so much money by growing your own in this way and it's very satisfying to see the finished product.
Happy gardening!