sounds lovely. I started calendula last year, but I didn’t bother planting any this spring because they self sowed so well. They current crop came up in the fall and wintered over. they are blooming up a storm now.

Last years flax reseeded well too.

I have zinnias, cleome, petunias, and ageratum that will be ready to plant out in another week.

Markay those calendula are gorgeous!

I've done most of my sowing already (I wintersow so I get an early start). But just today I found some tomato seeds I knew I had but couldn't find - which drove me crazy and made me doubt my sanity. So I will sow those tomorrow along with a few varieties of flowers for which I found some very old seed - but might as well try it. And now I think I will sow some calendulas...:)

Dee

Dee, the Calendula get fried once the heat sets in and then I yank them out and replace with zinnias.

Yep, I have last years calendulas and the autumn sown cornflowers just starting (something about blue and orange that I find very compelling - I use those colours in yarn too). Hardy annuals sown in autumn are completely different to the spring sown ones - huge, vigorous...like entirely different plants. All that root growth. I had mixed coloured zinnias last year which completely ruined the beds - a horrible mish mash. This year, it is salmon and purple only. And just the purple callistephus.And tall blue ageratum.

I dismantled the old strawberry beds cos of the bindweed, so now have a new bed just for cutting annuals...all the winter sowing tends to be perennials and such but the annuals catch up real quick, even with a May sowing. It is still a lot of work, isn't it, Markay and Dee, keeping the garden looking floriferous and full throughout a whole season (and although ours are never that hot, the flowering will continue until November and even beyond).

Sounds like you'll have an abundance of flowers for cutting, what a joy that will be!

I picked up some cosmos off the rack to fill in the bareness under some newly planted fruit trees, I'm debating direct sowing or starting them in the house. Never grew cosmos from seed. Also have some nasturtium I'm going to direct sow out there.

Up here, we don't typically direct sow things like marigolds and zinnias -- our "annual season" is too short, it would heading into August before the show would start. I don't care too much about the flowers on the cosmos or nast since the purpose is really just a cheap ground filler to keep the grass at bay while the trees take root.

My allotment is a bike ride away, so growing a lot of flowers for cutting means I get to enjoy the fruits of my labours while sitting at the kitchen table. My home garden is much too small to accommodate such fripperies as cutting beds so this way, I get to appreciate my flowers which are actually almost a mile from where I live.

Dee, the trick is to direct sow in rows, much like vegetables. Although they look a bit weird when growing, by the time the plants are a foot or so tall, the rows are no longer discernible, just a nice full mass of colour. Try it - you will be absolutely astonished by the difference between a late summer sown hardy annual compared to the same one sown in spring. The centaureas, for example, are 4 foot tall and almost 3foot wide - almost a bush! With hundreds of flowers. Sweetpeas are also notably stronger (although I grow those in pots and plant out in spring)...but the root development is what counts so I use 6 inch deep pots for half a dozen seedlings and simply plant the whole bunch in each hole.

I do see where you are coming from Mxk3 (I swear I type your user name differently every time).

Rosaprimula, such a lovely idea to combine cornflower with calendula. I may have to try that!

Dee, I got my calendula seed from Swallowtail seeds. It was called Fruit twist or citrus twist or something similar.

I just watered all the seedlings I have been hardening off. It went from mid 50s yesterday to low 80s today! Plants seem to be handling the big temperature swing better than I am.

mxk3, I only direct sow things like poppies and larkspur that don’t transplant well. i mostly start seeds in trays so I can control moisture and avoid weed competition. It’s funny though because things self sow on their own and come up just fine without my intervention. Except cosmos… cosmos hate my garden.

Kay

"It’s funny though because things self sow on their own and come up just fine without my intervention."

Isn't that the truth....

Couple years ago I had a volunteer zinnia way back in the pasture growing in the midst of weeds and pasture grasses, lush and healthy as could be, blooming it's heart out. The cultivated zinnia up by the house didn't look half as good. LOL!

My grow lights are full of petunias, lobelias, vincas, alyssum and impatiens. I’m going big with annuals front of the border this year! I should be able to start planting in 2-3 weeks! 🤩

Markay thanks for the info on your calendula. I am familiar with Swallowtail and I'll look for it next season.

rosa, what you say about sowing in straight lines makes absolute sense. I sow in lines in my wintersowing containers so I can kind of have an idea as to whether I'm babying a weed or my seedlings. Never thought to apply that to direct sowing. Duh, lol.

In all my years of growing them (and I grow a LOT because I love them!) I've never had a single cosmos or zinnia self-seed in my garden, sadly. Too bad, as these are the two annuals I will never be without, so each year I sow them. I get tons of larkspur, nigella, QAL, feverfew, columbines, agastache, and marigolds that reseed, to the point that I just rip out what's in the way. Except for the larkspur. I love that vivid purple/blue color so much I have trouble ripping any of it out. I try to move it but it doesn't always like that.

:)

Dee

I ended up sowing the Cosmos under the lights yesterday, I had to sow the squash and sunflowers, so I just did the Cosmos too while I was working on things down there.

I have some nicotiana that have finally sprouted. They took so long I was about ready to give up on them. Probably should have started them earlier!

O, don't worry - nicotiana grows like Topsy - will easily catch up and reach blooming size...and you will probably never need to sow them again. I certainly don't but up they pop, year on year, in the most unlikely of places. That tiny seed gets everywhere.

Rosaprimula, that is exactly what I am hoping for!!