Did you know it’s just six short weeks until the start of summer…? The month of May – once the soil warms and the frosts have passed – marks the perfect time to get planting, as seeds can be sown straight outdoors.
Whether you’ve got a bare patch left by spring bulbs, need to refresh raised beds or borders, add colour to vegetable patches or create a pollinator paradise, these quick-growing annuals are some of the best to sow now for beautiful blooms from late June and July onwards.
Just be sure the soil is kept moist, allowing seeds to germinate, thin out seedlings so they’re not overcrowded and deadhead once flowers make an appearance to keep the display colourful and consistent, and it won’t be long until you can stand back and admire the fruits of your labour.
1. Nigella
alisa24//Getty Images
Nigella is a winner with its pretty petals and delicate foliage
Also known as love-in-a-mist, this fuss-free flower with delicate blue, white or pink petals, is happiest directly sown into the soil. Perfect for a cottage-garden style, sow it in a sunny, well-drained spot where you want it to bloom, as it dislikes being moved. Try weaving between roses, perennials or other annuals.
2. Sunflowers
mbbirdy//Getty Images
Sunflowers bring a change in height to the garden
Visibly growing week by week, these big, blousy blooms bring a satisfying sense of optimism to a garden. They’re a brilliant choice for kids and wildlife (sunflower heads are an excellent, highly nutritious food for a wide variety of birds), as well as bringing height to your plot.
Sow them in full sun, in fertile, well-drained soil, and keep young plants protected from slugs and snails. Tall varieties work well at the back of borders, along fences or beside sheds, where they can be staked if necessary. Dwarf varieties are better for large pots, patio containers and smaller gardens.
3. California poppies
SHA GAN / 500px//Getty Images
These pretty poppies grow in poor, free-draining soil
These silky, cup-shaped flowers open up in the sunshine and bring a bright, informal splash of orange. They are especially useful where other plants struggle, as they dislike rich, wet ground and do not need to be made a fuss of.
Sow them directly into sunny gravel gardens, dry banks, path edges, cracks in paving or low-maintenance borders. They also work well in wildlife-friendly annual mixes. Avoid transplanting if possible, as they prefer to establish where they have been sown.
4. Ammi majus
Photographed by Victoria Phipps ©//Getty Images
This dainty bloom is perfect for adding to floral arrangements
Also known as False Bishop’s Weed, this is a quick and elegant annual to sow or plant in May, especially if you want a naturalistic or cut-flower effect. Its frothy white umbels resemble cow parsley and bring lightness to borders, helping to soften stronger colours and more solid planting.
It is attractive to pollinators and useful for flower arranging, where it acts as a delicate filler. Plant it in full sun or very light shade, in reasonably fertile, well-drained soil. It works best in the middle or back of a border, among perennials, grasses or roses. Give plants space so their branching stems can develop properly.
5. Cornflower
Florismart//Getty Images
Cornflowers were once considered a weed
Cornflowers are excellent May sowings because they are fast, uncomplicated and happy to grow directly where they’re planted. Their slender stems and vivid blue, pink, white or purple flowers bring a relaxed, meadow-like quality to the garden.
They are also valuable for pollinators and make lovely cut flowers. Sow them in full sun, in open soil that is not too rich, as overly fertile ground can produce lush growth at the expense of flowers. They look best scattered through cottage borders, wildlife patches or annual meadow mixes. Thin out seedlings so each plant has enough space to develop strong stems.
6. Cerinthe
undefined undefined//Getty Images
Cerinthe bring a variation in shape with their tubular flowers
Honeywort is a distinctive, quick-growing annual that responds well to May planting, especially once the soil has warmed and conditions are settled. It produces blue-green leaves and nodding purple-blue bracts, giving it a slightly exotic look while still fitting beautifully into cottage and wildlife gardens.
Grow it in a sunny, sheltered spot with well-drained soil, either in borders or containers. It looks especially effective near paths, patios or doorways where its unusual colouring can be appreciated close up. It also pairs well with calendula, grasses and soft pink annuals.
7. Nasturtiums
Jacky Parker Photography//Getty Images
This pollinator-friendly plant has edible leaves and petals
These forgiving, cheerful plants are a good choice for beginners or for filling gaps where spring displays have faded. Their bright, open flowers are attractive to pollinators, while the leaves and petals are edible, adding a peppery note to salads (they look so pretty, too).
Plant them in full sun and poor, free-draining soil, in containers, window boxes, raised beds or along the edges of a vegetable patch. Trailing varieties look lovely spilling over walls, steps or pot rims, while compact forms suit smaller spaces.
Gardening must-haves
Filberts of Dorset Gardeners Hand Salve
Haywards Garden Bee and Butterfly Water Stations, Garden Décor, set of three colourful bee water cups .
Now 17% Off
Home Sussex Handmade Peg Apron
Painted Garden Label/Marker
The Fae Potter Wild Bird Feeder ceramic hanging
WhinnyPoo WhinnyPoo Box of 3 Plant Feed
Comments are closed.