STEP BY STEP Sow outdoors

IF YOU’RE growing your flowers for cutting, sowing them in neat rows will make the job easier. For displaying in a bed, scatter them or sow in patches of rows. If sowing in patches, face the rows in different directions for each patch to achieve a random effect. Rows will help you identify weeds easily as your seedlings grow. Keep watered if the weather’s dry.

Prepare the soil carefully, breaking up any clods, removing all weeds, and making sure it’s firm and level. Only rake lightly.

Create shallow, straight drills 25cm apart for cornflowers and 45cm apart for rudbeckias. Trickle water into the drills.

Sow the seed along the drills, giving each seed plenty of space. Cover with a fine layer of soil and thin the seedlings as they grow.