Posted: Monday 6 April 2009
by Adam Pasco
Some people get a bit snobby when it comes to flowers. Perennials usually come high in the pecking order for the 'must have' plants of the moment, but when did you last hear anyone singing the praises of hardy annuals?
Some people get a bit snobby when it comes to flowers. Perennials usually come high in the pecking order for the 'must have' plants of the moment, but when did you last hear anyone singing the praises of hardy annuals?
Annuals are the unsung heroes among garden flowers, and really deserve to be more widely grown and respected, especially at a time when people are looking for ways to spend less on their gardens. They're simple things, I know, but I think that's their appeal. Just look at the photograph of godetia (above) that I took last summer. Isn't it glorious? Grown closely packed together, godetia forms a carpet of colour worthy of a place in any garden.
No, godetia isn't a perennial that comes back year after year, but a simple hardy annual. In terms of value, a single perennial could cost you, say, £5.00 to buy, but you could pick up a packet of Godetia Dwarf Mixed flower seed for just £1.39, and grow 1,000 plants! Yes, 1,000 seeds in a packet, and other hardy annuals offer similar great value.
Perhaps being so cheap has worked against annuals over the years. Perhaps plants aren't worth growing unless they're rare, exclusive, and expensive. Well creating a great looking garden doesn't have to cost you a fortune. Many of us are gardening on a tight budget, and you can fill borders to overflowing with a selection of hardy annuals like sunflowers, calendula, poppy, love-in-a-mist, larkspur, poached egg flowers, lavatera, alyssum, cornflower, night scented stock, and climbers like nasturtium and scented sweet pea. The list goes on.
Hardy annual seed can be sown directly into your garden borders where they will flower - no messing round with pots, seed trays or pricking out. Just sow where you want colour, and leave them to it (well, a little bit of weeding won't go amiss).
Many hardy annuals also generously set seed. Either collect seed or let it fall onto the soil around and you'll have more flowers next year for free.
So, what's your favourite annual?
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