Nothing links us
more to nature than meandering through a well-tended garden carpeted with
flowers that are a feast for the eyes. Annual flowers provide a rich display
for most of the summer and into the early autumn and many of them are also
suitable for cutting and displaying indoors.
Annuals, in their
numberless colors and shades, arrive at maturity, bloom, produce seed, and die
in one season. Many hardy annuals such as candytuft, phlox drummondii, and the
beautifully scented sweet alyssum, and sweet peas etc., can be sown in August
and September for spring flowering, and require little or no protection from
frost. The seed of hardy annual garden flowers can also be sown thinly outdoors
during March, April, or May in fine soil, covering them slightly as very small
seeds need just a light covering of seed compost over them. Planting small
seeds too deeply will result in many of them being lost. When the plants are
large enough to handle, they need to be thinned out to let them to develop
fully. In this way strong and sturdy plants are produced and their flowering
properties enhanced.
The more tender
half-hardy annuals are best sown in seed trays 2 or 3 in. deep during February
and March, and placed in a greenhouse at a temperature of about 60 degrees. The
seed tray should be nearly filled with equal parts of potting compost and coarse
silver sand, thoroughly mixed, and have holes at the bottom of the tray for
drainage. The seeds need only be sown thinly and evenly over the soil and
covered very lightly.
Very small seeds,
such as lobelia and musk, shouldn't be covered by compost but a sheet of glass
over the seed tray will help them, as it keeps the moisture in the compost from
evaporating too quickly. If watering becomes necessary, care must be taken so
that the seeds are not washed out just as they are developing their tender roots.
As soon as the
young plants appear, remove the glass and place them near the light, where
gentle ventilation can be given to them to prevent long and straggly growth of
their stems. They should then be hardened off gradually, but not planted out
until the weather is favourable i.e. the frosts have passed. Seed can also be
sown in a cold frame in April, or in the open border during May; or the plants
can be raised in the windows of a sitting-room or conservatory.
Very tender
annuals need to be sown in a rather stronger heat than is necessary for
half-hardy varieties. As soon as they are large enough to be moved, they can be
prick them off into small pots, gradually potting them on into larger sizes
until the flowering size is reached.
It's useful to
know in advance of doing any transplanting, that most annual flowers need
plenty of room in which to grow. Most will take kindly to transplanting into
their final flowering spots. Exceptions
include those that have taproots like mignonette, larkspurs and poppies. These
will not respond well to having their roots disturbed.
Annuals provide us
with a wonderful assortment of brilliant flowers: asters, the larkspur, and the
profusely blooming petunias which are ideal for summer hanging baskets, plus
portulaccas, and zinnias to name but a few. And because they can be grown in
almost any type of soil provided it's well-drained, and need only a reasonably
sunny spot to flourish, they are justifiably the most widely grown of all
flowers.
