Going out in a blaze of glory
Poppies, radishes and spring onions are some of the cheerful flowers and vegetables you can plant now, writes
IAM not afraid to admit it — there are some plants that I have a troubled relationship with. While nerines and amaryllis are some of my very favourite garden flowers, for their ability to erupt like pastel pink fireworks from beneath the earth in March, their arrival is also unequivocal confirmation that the dark days of winter are just around the corner. Like that last quick dip in the ocean before catching your flight home from a summer holiday, for me it’s an emotional trigger that the months of sunshine and fun are over and only seriousness awaits.
Fortunately, for us fairweather gardeners, there are some plants you can spark into life right now, providing you with a constant reminder of new things to come. Here are some of my favourite flower and vegetable seeds that you can sow in the autumn.
California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) are some of the easiest annuals to sow, providing a blaze of orange and yellow right through to the very end of summer. I love them for their ability to establish colourful colonies on the flanks of gravel paths, where little else will grow. Despite being annuals they will happily selfseed, providing you with showstopping colour.
If it’s more traditional poppies you are after, now is also the perfect time to sow field poppies by simply scattering them over any bare patches of welldrained soil that basks in full sun, and wateringin well. Cornflowers, calendula and nigella will make perfect bedfellows for any of the above, too, offering up a range of contrasting colours and textures.
If, however, you are gardening on a more moist, shady site, primroses would be an excellent option. Their seeds will only germinate when exposed to a period of cold, so late summer and early autumn is the best time to do this, with seedlings popping up the following spring.
There are even a few edibles you can try your hand at before the soil cools, including fastgrowing crops such as radishes and spring onions, as well as winter hardy vegetables such as perpetual spinach and broad beans. So if you, like me, have always found the first flush of autumn flowers a bittersweet experience, just think about them as your green light to start off a new cycle of colour and flavour for the months to come. — Guardian News and Media
Some seed companies are open for online business as they are an essential service, but expect delays in deliveries.