The nights are starting to draw in, the days getting shorter, and anyone who painstakingly sowed summer annuals in early spring would by now be expecting to see glorious dahlias bursting forth with colour, stately larkspurs towering majestically above your raised beds, and soft billowy ammi frothing with late summer delight – fear not if things haven’t quite lived up to your expectations.

Although we sweltered in the hottest June temperatures on record, we also saw the wettest July on record*, both of which played havoc with our gardens. And that horrid cold snap in spring caused many things in the garden – myself included – to go into hibernation. (*it might be good to put a disclaimer here and say ‘the record’ in question here is my own and I’ve only been recording it for 3 years!)

Seed Sowing

Although some plants suffered, others will be blooming marvellous, giving you more joy than you could ever imagine from a two quid packet of seeds. If you missed my step-by-step, ‘Sow Amazing Annuals’ growing from seed guide from Issue 17, then take a quick sneaky peek back at part one. 

So why am I still harping on about seed sowing when the summer is all but over? Well, we know that gardeners never truly rest, and cool flowers are what should be on your agenda right now. I don’t mean blooms that are leaning back in the garden with a copy of Jack Kerouac tucked under their leaves – no I mean those hardy annuals and biennials that can be sown now before winter takes hold. 

Sowing hardy annuals in late summer whilst the days are still long and the temperatures relatively mild (again, I should add a Scottish weather disclaimer here), gives your wee seeds a chance to germinate and establish themselves before winter comes. Nothing fills your heart with more joy during autumn than to see those tiny little sprouts of green emerge from the soil.

By spring time they’ll have established a robust root system and formed tough little plants, strong enough to be planted out across Scotland, and will flower much earlier than those seeds sown in spring – but do still sow more in spring for a succession of colour. 

My Top Hardy Annuals

Agrostemma, Ammi majus, antirrhinum, larkspur, cornflower, nigella, and orlaya. These showstoppers are as tough as old boots and almost foolproof. I say almost as my Great Uncle Arnold often threw caution to the wind and sowed his in the turn-ups of his best pair of gardening corduroys; the results weren’t as impressive as one would have liked.

One of the most common questions I get asked is ‘what shall I grow?’ Basically, the answer is always the same – what would you like to see in your garden? Life’s too short to grow things that don’t appeal to you: grow plants that will give you untold pleasure and joy.

Winter Sow Method

I find the most reliable method for autumn sown annuals is the winter sow method. I know that sounds confusing – gardening can be like that. I’ve covered this before (again see part one), but it involves mini greenhouses made with 4 litre milk cartons and rolls of duct tape. I was taught this method by a woman in Michigan who battled with eighteen inches of snow on her lawn and still managed to produce a staggering display.

As I say, these little beauties are right hardy, if you are sowing in seed trays or modules then they can be left in an unheated greenhouse, in a wee plastic zippy greenhouse, or kept outside in a sheltered spot.

Although they’re tough, the one thing you do need to watch out for is heavy rain. Stormy weather will dislodge the seeds and batter down those tender newly formed seedlings. So try to keep them sheltered. I bung mine on the shelf of the outdoor potting table and they do fine. Admittedly I’m a bit harsh on my plants – but it doesn’t do to be too soft in the garden! 

Whatever method you use, do make sure you sow your seeds before winter sets in. If you wait until the short, cold days, that’ll result in them remaining dormant and they’ll struggle to grow; you’ll have wasted all that valuable time; your hands will be frozen solid, and you won’t be able to feel your feet for three days.

Plan Ahead for Next Year

It’s best to have some forward thinking here too. Decide where you’ll want to plant out your annuals – will you create a dedicated cutting bed, or slot them into bare patches of your existing plot?

The most marvellous things about annuals is, apart from a few ‘one and done’ (stocks fall into this category), the more you cut, the more they flower. You can give your sweetpea plant a baldy every ten days and it’ll always come back blooming again bigger and better than before.

Autumn-planted bulbs

Don’t forget autumn planted bulbs too for fabulous cut flowers next spring. Allium, camassia, and daffodil can all be planted in autumn. This year I discovered the hairy allium, Allium vineale ‘Hair’. What an absolute belter; they are now on my favourite list, make stupendous cut flowers with a ridiculously long vase life.

Wait until November onwards though to plant tulips bulbs though – especially in Scotland as they don’t like to be too cold and wet.

To those of you new to growing from seed, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, and be put off, but gardening is a journey: it’s about the pleasure of sowing, growing, nurturing your little plot and making it your own. It takes a few years to know what works for you.

One last wee thing I do need to add is – and this comes under the ‘do as I say, not as I do’ category – take notes. You’ll be amazed how quickly you forget what worked well and what didn’t. And be vigilant of the sun-light levels in your garden. What might be in full sunshine early spring, can be in dappled, or even deep shade, come summer when the over head trees created a canopy of leaves.

So get sowing, have fun, and enjoy your gardening journey. 

Theresa Talbot is a boutique florist and garden consultant based in Glasgow. Following a successful broadcasting career with the BBC, Theresa embarked on a new path, training with some of the best florists in the country to launch Willow & Herb.

Her passion is for sustainable floristry, creating natural, rustic style arrangements including blooms from Scottish flower farms, as well as from her own plot. 2023 was an exciting year as Theresa expanded her cutting garden to offer clients more of the exclusive and unusual blooms for which she is now known.

See more of Theresa’ beautiful blooms on her Instagram and Facebook pages.