Ornamental plant seeds
A flowering bed, a balcony box full of colour or a meadow for bees starts with a packet of seeds. Here you will find ornamental flower seeds for the bed, the balcony and containers — annuals like sunflower, marigold and petunia, perennials for the perennial bed, and flowering mixes for butterflies and bees. For each packet we list the sowing time, height and flowering period.
Ornamental plant seeds
Your own flowers from seed cost less than plug plants and offer far more varieties and colours. The range includes ornamental flower seeds for sowing in the bed, the box and containers on the terrace: annuals such as sunflower, marigold, tagetes or petunia, biennials like pansy and bellflower, and perennials that flower again each year.
The kinds differ in lifespan and how they are sown. Annuals flower in the first year and fade after the season, biennials flower in the second year and perennials stay in the bed for many years. Heat-loving kinds are started on the windowsill and planted out after the spring frosts, while hardier ones are sown straight into the bed.
When choosing, look at the height and position — tall sunflowers and larkspur belong at the back of the bed, low and trailing kinds in boxes and front edges. Sun-loving flowers want full sun, while shade suits, for example, busy Lizzie and violets. For a long display, choose kinds that set buds continuously.
For germination, give the seeds moisture and warmth, and sow fine seeds only shallowly. Store the packets somewhere dry and cool so they keep their germination rate for the next season. Deadhead the faded flowers regularly — the plant then flowers for longer and more freely.