recognise the types of plants

The largest group of plants widely grown from seed are annuals that complete their entire life cycle in a single season. These may be hardy, half-hardy or tender, meaning no more than able to withstand life out of doors without protection in the case of hardy, needing some protection from frost in the case of half-hardy, and not safe out of doors until the frosts have finished in the case of the latter.

This group of plants provide many of the "bedding" and "pot" plants that are bought each year to fill borders, baskets, and containers. In reality some of them are actually tender perennials (about which more in a moment) that are grown in our northern European climate as annuals because they keel over with the colder weather. Increasingly with recent winters some of these plants are surviving winter but since they are so easily grown from seed it is best to treat them as annuals.

Annuals
Popular annuals to sow include snapdragon (Antirrhinum), pot marigold (Calendula), Convolvulus, Cosmos, Dahlia, sunflower (Helianthus), flax (Linum), Lobelia, morning glory (Ipomoea), nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus), Nemesia, tobacco plant (Nicotiana), love-in-the-mist (Nigella), poppy (Papaver), Petunia, Rudbeckia, scabious (Scabiosa), African and French marigolds (Tagetes), Verbena, and Zinnia.

Biennials
The truly perplexing group of plants for some people are the biennials that are sown one year and complete their life cycle the following year. Perhaps the best known of these are wallflowers and foxgloves. Many of this type of plant can be sown out of doors because they are seeded during summer but there are biennials that are not really biennials but treated as such like polyanthus, pansies, and other types of viola that can be sown as early as March/April. Popular biennials include: Canterbury bell (Campanula medium), wallflower (Cheiranthus allionii and C. cheiri), foxglove (Digitalis), honesty (Lunaria annua (syn. Biennis), stock (Matthiola), forget-me-not (Myosotis alpestris), Iceland poppy (Papaver nudicaule), polyanthus (Primula veris), viola (Viola cornuta), and pansy (Viola tricolour),

Reap the reward of sowing perennials

Although perhaps far more annuals are sown from seed by gardeners than any other type the greatest reward in both enjoyment and cash savings is to be had by sowing seeds of perennials. This group of plants over winters and comes back if not year after year at least for several seasons in succession. These generally herbaceous plants are invariably the most expensive varieties in the nurseries and garden centres (after shrubs and trees) and a tray or two of perennial seeds that cost next to nothing to sow can be turned into plants that would cost a great deal of money to buy. Of course after a few successful seasons of sowing perennials your herbaceous borders will soon be packed but that is no reason to stop sowing perennial seeds.

The term "herbaceous" merely refers to the general habit of this type of plant to die back to a root that remains dormant in the soil through the winter to produce fresh growth in the spring.

Among the more commonly available perennial seeds you should find on sale are aquilegia or columbine (Aquilegia), yarrow (Achillea), bellflower (Campanula), delphinium or larkspur (Delphinium), mullein (Verbascum), and hollyhocks (Althaea rosea).

Sowing seed out of doors

Many hardy annuals can be sown out of doors during March-April provided the weather and soil conditions are favourable. This can be directly into the intended position in a bed or border or directly into pots and containers. It is a good idea when sowing seed in a bed to make a series of straight drills so that when the seedlings emerge they can be distinguished easily from any surrounding weeds.

Another way to sow annuals is to sow them thinly in containers that also contain perennials. In both this case and with open bed sowings, thin the seedlings out as necessary when they emerge. With annuals sown in pots together with established perennials it is important to choose varieties that will not be too tall but this does ensure a longer period of interest since many perennials have a shorter period of maximum interest than annuals.

Soil in beds that are used for sowing seed needs to be worked to a fine tilth and any clods should be removed. Where sowing varieties that can be transplanted (see packet for details) use the corner of a hoe or the back of a rake to draw a v-shaped drill alongside a line positioned for guidance. Cover the seeds with fine moist soil and on light dry soil firm the ground by treading lightly.