20 flowers to sow now

Flowers make us happy. There’s lots of research to prove this, but you can see it for yourself: give someone a bunch of flowers and watch them smile. It’s lovely to buy flowers from the florist or local markets, but nothing beats wandering out into the garden, secateurs in hand, to pick a posy.

While most garden plants produce flowers that can be picked and arranged in a vase, planting a special picking garden, perhaps as part of the vegie patch or even in a large pot or trough, will yield masses of flowers that you can cut for the vase without spoiling the show in the garden.

Annual flowering plants grow and flower within a year, and these are usually grown by gardeners from seed or seedling. Great choices to plant now, giving you lots of flowers to pick, are nigella (also grown for its ornamental seed pod), sweet pea, Iceland poppy, calendula and snapdragon.

Grow some pansies if you’d like small posies for vases or gifts for friends. Mid-autumn is also an ideal time to plant late winter- and spring-flowering bulbs such as jonquil, daffodil, freesia, anemone and ranunculus.

Make a selection of your favourite flowers and colours, and start planting or sowing now. See our sowing chart (overpage), which includes a mix of annuals and biennials, for more ideas.

GETTING STARTED

For a constant supply of flowers, select a sheltered, sunny spot. The better the soil, the easier it is to grow these flowers. Create rich, well-drained soil by digging well-rotted manure or compost into your existing garden soil. If growing in a container, select a good-quality potting mix that meets the Australian Standard.

Start off seeds in a seed tray or punnets, ready to plant out when the seedlings are large enough to handle. Alternatively, skip this stage and start with punnets of seedlings from the garden centre. Large seeds, such as nasturtiums, can be sown directly where they are to grow, and are great for beginners and young gardeners. To keep flowers coming, make successive plantings over several weeks.

Some flowering annuals grow best with support, so get this organised before you start planting. Different supports include climbing frames – for nasturtiums or sweet peas to clamber on, for example – or stakes to support the tall stems of lupins.

When the seedlings are ready to go into the ground – or into a larger container if you’re growing them in a pot – make sure the soil is moist and free of weeds, old roots and stones. Take note of the recommended plant spacing, which is printed on the seed packet or seedling label, to give the plants room to grow and flower. Most need to be spaced at least 20cm apart to reach their full potential.

You need to protect your tender young seedlings from birds, snails and slugs, which can destroy them. Placing up-ended wire baskets over small plants is an easy way to deter birds, and perhaps possums and wallabies. To stop snails and slugs eating seedlings, use an iron-based bait that’s safe for pets and wildlife.

ONGOING CARE

To get seedlings growing strongly, they need to be watered regularly. Surround each plant with a thin layer of organic mulch, such as sugarcane mulch, to reduce water loss and inhibit weeds. To promote growth, liquid-fertilise every 7–10 days using a fertiliser formulated for flowering plants.

Keep an eye out for damaging pests such as aphids and caterpillars (these can be squashed for speedy removal)