Autumn is the ideal time to sow hardy annuals, but if you missed that opportunity, all is not lost. As days warm and lengthen, you can start seed in trays or, more simply, sow directly outdoors in a prepared bed. Seed sown now will flower from midsummer. Georgie Newbery, owner of Common Farm Flowers and author of The Flower Farmer’s Year has decades of experience of growing and arranging flowers and advises choosing flowers that will fulfil particular functions in a display: “It’s important to consider more than just ease of propagating,” she explains. Here she picks ten good hardy annuals that serve different purposes.
Common Farm Flowers, Barrow Lane, Charlton Musgrove, Somerset BA9 8HN. Tel: 01963 32883; commonfarmflowers.com
1 Lavatera trimestris
Lavatera, or annual tree mallow, offers large,…
