Seed Shopping for Autumn Sown Cut Flower Hardy Annuals

[@kellykilfeather]

I’m glad I’m not the only one late sowing

[@lindab1458]

A nice selection there Sarah. I’d be interested to hear what you consider your successes and failures this year, including what surprised you with either how well it grew or how good for arranging. Maybe a winter evening video 😉

[@bloomandgray]

I will definitely put that on the list Linda!

[@debhenley1507]

This was so helpful!! Thank you so much for your videos x

[@lgeks]

Try premier seeds, brilliant prices and a good range of key basics. Everything I had from there germinated and gave beautiful plants. Only negative is the seed packets have no instructions on!

[@inbloom2006]

Thanks for sharing and your honesty about being behind - it makes me feel a lot better! I'm in the same place and have been saying I need to start my fall garden for almost a month now. I'm glad to know I'm not alone!

[@davidt898]

Also Kings Seeds worth a try to Sarah.

[@hungsblomsterhus9451]

They have really good collections. I wish they able to ship outside the UK soon.

[@divinegroundtantra]

Oh yes, waiting for the day! It was one of my New Year rituals for years to get the Chiltern Seeds catalogue in the post, ordering old favourites and some new varieties I'd never grown before. Then looking forward to the seeds arriving. It always seemed to shorten the winter, reminding me that summer is only around the corner.

[@summerholiday12]

You would love cerinthe, 🐝 love it, collect seeds in August so easy, each plant will give you loads of seeds, I collect over 50 from just one plant! And it will self seed, early spring flowers

[@bloomandgray]

Yes I was definitely thinking of saving my own seed next year. Looking forward to trying it!

[@wendycullingworth3879]

Have you tried Canterbury bells, molucalla, eustoma, feverfew and monarda? Sweet William too. Soooooo many you could plant but it just gets harder to manage if you overstretch yourself. The list you already have is great though without adding much more. 👍

[@bloomandgray]

Hi Wendy, yes I put Canterbury bells, sweet wills in when I did the biennials. I put some monarda in this year too it was great!

[@charliehardwick7625]

What a great selection! I always have good luck with Cerinthe - one of my all-time faves. They're big chunky seeds, hence why you might not get many. But if they get off the ground then they produce loads of stems per plant. The bees absolutely love them and they're such a gorgeous colour in real life, quite tricky to describe. Really rich bluey green. I think you'll love them!

[@allotmentgardeningatplot5040]

Premier seeds direct super company 👌

[@richardmuskett931]

Yep . Cheap . Generous with the seeds . Good germination . No instructions or pictures on the packet......but that's probably how they keep them so cheap......can't have everything !

[@ambergreen5531]

I’m in the USA and I love to add Bells of Ireland and Limonium (Statis) to my “Cool Flowers”

[@Emma-ws7vs]

Lovely selection of seeds, I haven’t sown anything yet either and am waiting for mine to turn up. Glad it’s not just me!

[@thenodiggardener]

I'm not a cut flower grower, so no idea if they'll have what you're looking for, but I use them for veg and flower seeds, and seedaholic are a wonderful company in Ireland who ship here. I've bought all sorts of hardy annuals from them, including cornflowers, scabious, and bread seed poppies.

[@wildirishroseflower]

Great selection. I'm sowing most of them too. Got a polytunnel recently and I'm looking forward to growing stocks next year. I love Cerinthe, saving seeds from it this year. You get lots of stems from one plant and it just keeps going if you keep picking. The bees love it too. Second best plant for bees in my cut flower field. I grew Cleome this year and didn't enjoy it. It's quite nice to look at but is very thorny and smells odd. I'm behind with sowing too Sarah. You're not alone ☺️

[@bloomandgray]

I'm looking forward to seeing it next summer! I'm glad there's a few of us behind this year.. i'm sure we will still get lots of lovely flowers next summer!

[@maynardgreenhouse]

I watched Laura of Garden Answer direct seed some cool season plants in March this year and I was amazed at how well they did. I don't think it would work to try growing anything in the fall as our winters are pretty harsh even in zone 6b southern New England US. I envy your temperate weather :)

[@dorothyleeuw8774]

You can still grow Hardy annuals. Check out the book Cool Flowers by Lisa Mason Ziegler. 😍

[@charlottefilcek9035]

I've found Chiltern's filtering a bit hit and miss too! Tend to search for a plant name now to see what comes up but that can also mean missing stuff. Nice selection there- I think you'll like the cerinthe for early foliage.

[@bevcruz940]

Slugs and bunnies ate almost ALL my bupleurum, I must have planted it 10 times

[@helenevans6132]

Try kings seeds. Theyre the cheapest i found.

[@NJGardengirl1961]

I found cleome to be an awful cut flower. Georgie Newberry gives excellent advice!

[@tammynelson9568]

I just purchased a book called Cool Flowers. The Author is from the US. She discusses what you are talking about. Great book and I am glad to see your process also. Greetings from Ohio zone 6B

[@mariavassallo3782]

I have an honest question - why don't you save seeds? Do you find they are cross pollinated too often?

[@clairegill7891]

I’ve only just started my Snapdragons and Nigella 😕 and I’m trying Lisianthus for the first time! 🤞🏻 but I’m guessing I’ll fail at those 🤨so flipping slow 🥱😴😂🌸

[@tarahholman1266]

I know you like to grow artichokes. Have you ever sown them in the fall??

[@bloomandgray]

I haven't but I don't see why it wouldn't work if you kept them protected over winter.

[@petergardner2334]

kings seeds for flower seeds

[@kellykilfeather]

I soooo recommend Seedaholic. Great selection, germination rate and great value. Have a lot of the same varieties that Chiltern have, but cheaper. Followed by Premierseeds and Seekay Horticultural, both have a great range of staple flowers, and v cheap. Usually 99p for a generous pack. Great germination rates too. Then after I’ve looked at those three sites, I’ll check out Chiltern seeds for the ones that the cheaper sites don’t have, or moles for the ones I want in bulk.