July growing with Cel Robertson
It’s been a bit of a tricky year for gardeners hasn’t it? Non-stop rain, cool temperatures and an explosion in the slug and snail population doesn’t make for easy growing conditions – but there is still time to sow some of your free seeds if you haven’t done so already! I am delighted to have some flowers blooming at last in my pollinator bed, all grown from my Gardener’s World free seeds! The echium and the first batch of sunflowers are blooming, and I’m sure that the cosmos and strawflower will be in flower quite soon. I have re-sown the zinnia plants that were munched by the snails and I expect that I’ll have some flowers from these in a few weeks’ time.
- Get growing advice now, for all 12 packs of free seeds.
- Check out veg grower Rachel Bull’s top tips for your free edible seeds
Here are a few tips for getting the most enjoyment from your flowers!
Do a final sowing of the free sunflower, cosmos and zinnia seeds now for a late flush of blooms in mid-autumn. Sow the seeds directly into the soil where they are to flower; they will germinate and grow very quickly if sown at this time of the year. Remember to protect your seedlings from slugs!
I like to pinch out my cosmos, zinnia and strawflower plants; removing the leading shoot means that you will get lots more flowering stems produced from lower down the main stem. The plants will be bushier and more stable which is a benefit if you garden in a windy spot!
Tall sunflowers can get a bit top heavy; they will need to be staked firmly to stop them being toppled in a summer storm!
Keep deadheading the cosmos, zinnias and strawflowers as the blooms fade. This will encourage the plant to produce lots more flowers over a longer period of time.
Once your sunflowers have finished flowering, leave the heads to completely go to seed; small birds will love feeding on these through the autumn.
If you’ve sown your foxglove seed in a flat tray, the tiny seedlings will need to be pricked out once they are large enough to handle. Carefully lift out each seedling holding them gently by a leaf and pot into individual cells in a module tray or a small pot. Grow the plants on in a cool spot in the garden and plant them into their final positions in the border in early autumn. They will bulk up through the autumn season and produce spikes of flowers next May/June.
If you have any Echium ‘Blue Bedder’ seed left you can sow another batch in August/September. These plants can be overwintered and planted out in early spring for a flush of flowers early next summer.
I hope you’ve had fun growing something new and filling your beds with flowers this year!
