Seeds of success

1 Sow

The seed of most annuals can be sown directly where they are to grow (seed trays are not necessary). Choose a bed that gets no less than six hours of sun a day; loosen the soil well and work compost and a few handfuls of bonemeal about 20cm deep into the soil. Rake the soil level. Water the bed and sow the seeds of your choice.

Check the seed packet for the right sowing season and follow the instructions for depth and spacing. Decide whether you want to sow the seeds in groups or in rows, or a mixture of different types together; it depends how you want your bed to look. Tall-growing varieties are best suited to the back of the bed so they don’t crowd low-growing plants. Keep the seeds and seedlings moist but not soggy.

Seedlings growing too close together must be thinned out. Your cut flowers will be healthier and look better if the plants are not crowded and there’s not too much competition for food and water in the flowerbed.

It takes about 90–120 days from germination to blooming. When the flowers are ready to be picked, do so often to encourage more blooms and to discourage the plants from setting seed.

2 Pick

Pick blooms in the early morning or late afternoon when it’s cool; the flowers will last much longer than if you pick them in the heat of the day. Select three or four colours for your bouquet – too many can become overwhelming. White is a good choice and always looks fresh. You can, of course, combine different shades of the colours, as long as you stick to the basic palette. For contrast, choose a flower or two in a contrasting colour. Pick green or grey foliage to use as fillers in-between. All the flowers don’t need to be open – pick some in bud to add interest. Keep a bucket, filled to about a third with water, handy and place the cut flowers in the water immediately. Leave in a cool place away from direct sunlight until you’re ready to arrange your bouquet.

3 Make the bouquet

Remove the lower leaves where the stems will be submerged in water; leave the top foliage intact and sort the flowers according to type. Choose a focal flower and start with that; place some of the other flowers and foliage alongside. Three to five focal flowers in an average-sized bunch are sufficient, especially if you use a large flower like a dahlia.

Odd numbers of one type of flower also look better than even numbers. Cut some stems shorter so some flowers peek out from below the others. Place the stems across each other rather than directly next to each other – it looks more natural. Group smaller flowers like carnations together so they don’t get lost among the larger flowers.