I wouldn't be without Cerinthe major 'Purpurescens'. Great little plant, so easy to grow, bees love it - you honestly can't go wrong with it.
I also love French Marigolds and by far the best I have grown were those that I grew last year, which were called 'Konstance' - the bees and hoverflies loved those too and they flowered non-stop from summer all the way through to the first frosts.
Another success from last year was Emilia coccinea (Flora's paintbrush)- very pretty and no hassle to care for.
Calendula, cornflowers, nasturtiums and sweet peas also essential.
I like Chrysanthemum 'Court Jesters' too.
I think annuals are great, because you can vary your schemes from year to year and they are so cheap to grow from seed.
I grow all sorts of annuals / bedding, been pricking these this out today - trailing petunias - antirrhinums - begonia - bapoca, the tithonia and others look like they could do with doing next week. I have some trough on the front i fill and plant them in pots with dahlia / canna etc, and make a few baskets up for other people.
I've been really lazy this year and as yet have only sown some chillies, annual lobelia and agastache.
I'm in two minds whether to try sowing some hardy annuals out in the unheated growhouse instead of the conservatory this year. Indoor space is lacking at the moment.
A lot of the annuals I grow aren't the typical bedding type like impatiens or petunias, more wild and wooly types which are pollinator friendly Echium blue bedder did well for me last year, the phacelia got a bit out of control though. Had a nice cantanache with very pretty flowers on it's delicate stems.
Have to have sweet peas every year along with salvia viridis, the brightly coloured "clary sage".
in hanging baskets, lobelia, petunias, begonias, no, I dont do the same thing every year! I had really good success with cosmos the past 2 years some varieties were 4/5 feet tall hoping for same this year, always gaps to be filled in. Hubby hs almost finnished putting up new fence, wants to remove old clay soil and renew, so I cannot plant the things I would like and the moment, so will be infilling with annuals.
I usually grow some if not all of these ... sweet peas, calendula, cerinthe major, ipomea, nasturtiums, thunbergia, cosmos ... I keep trying to rein myself in ......... it's a fool's errand ...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
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Great little plant, so easy to grow, bees love it - you honestly can't go wrong with it.
I also love French Marigolds and by far the best I have grown were those that I grew last year, which were called 'Konstance' - the bees and hoverflies loved those too and they flowered non-stop from summer all the way through to the first frosts.
Another success from last year was Emilia coccinea (Flora's paintbrush)- very pretty and no hassle to care for.
Calendula, cornflowers, nasturtiums and sweet peas also essential.
I like Chrysanthemum 'Court Jesters' too.
I think annuals are great, because you can vary your schemes from year to year and they are so cheap to grow from seed.
I'm in two minds whether to try sowing some hardy annuals out in the unheated growhouse instead of the conservatory this year. Indoor space is lacking at the moment.
A lot of the annuals I grow aren't the typical bedding type like impatiens or petunias, more wild and wooly types which are pollinator friendly
Echium blue bedder did well for me last year, the phacelia got a bit out of control though.
Had a nice cantanache with very pretty flowers on it's delicate stems.
Have to have sweet peas every year along with salvia viridis, the brightly coloured "clary sage".
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.