Quick-growing annuals to sow now
FOR those making a late start with their flower garden, there is still time in late spring to sow ‘last-minute’ annuals straight into prepared soil. This is gardening pared down to the basics, requiring only a few packets of seeds and prepared, sun-warmed soil to create a summer of abundant blooms. You’ll need to find an empty section of border, or use a collection of containers topped up with fresh multipurpose compost.
Annuals are plants that have evolved to germinate, grow, flower and shed seed in one growing season, after which they die off. Those with origins in harsh, dry climates including California in the US, the Mediterranean and South Africa are especially speedy, to complete their cycle while there is sufficient moisture in the soil. Some frost-hardy annuals will germinate in autumn and sit the winter out as small plants, as
