Forum home› Plants
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Growing your own summer bedding?

bellevallenderbellevallender Posts: 21
in Plants
I would like to have a go at growing my own summer bedding this year (mostly to add to containers) I have a small unheated greenhouse. Could anyone recommend anything fairly easy to grow for a beginner? I like pinks/purples/blues/some yellows. I have a very exposed site so nothing tall as it just gets destroyed by the wind! Many thanks for your help :) 

Posts

  • JessicaSJessicaS Posts: 870
    edited January 2021
    I recommend: Pansys, Petunia, Marigolds, alyssum, lobelia, nasturtium (you can get some lovely shades).  They all do very well from seed (I tried that lot myself last spring!).  
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    The important thing to remember is that all the seed you sow will need potting on if it al germinates. That will determine how much you sow if the greenhouse is small  :)

    Nasturtiums are best sown direct, rather than sown and potted on.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • bellevallenderbellevallender Posts: 21
    thank you @JessicaS - that is a great list to try out this year :) Yes good point @Fairygirl will keep this in mind 
  • D0rdogne_DamselD0rdogne_Damsel Posts: 4,184
    I would add Zinnias for colour and Cineraria (Silver Dust) to the list, I think the Cineraria and also trailing verbena are great additions to summer containers. I have done all from seed with great success, sometimes as @Fairygirl warns, with too much success.  :p 
    • “Coffee. Garden. Coffee. Does a good morning need anything else?” —Betsy Cañas Garmon
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I used to start them off on a window sill indoors in mid to late March, even April, when I had an unheated GH. Can't put them in the GH too soon, gets pretty cold in an unheated green house.

    I grew most of what has been mentioned and Cosmos and Ageratum.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • Jolly Gary the GardenerJolly Gary the Gardener Posts: 133
    Hi All
    Love all those plants my favourite from when I was a teenager growing stuff at the end of my parents garden in the 70s is the Antirrhinum (snap dragon) there are so many colours. you could have these in a pot or border then edge with allisym or lobellia it works well for me and are easy to grow from seed
    Happy 2021 gardening
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Diascia is a very good value plant - great colours, easy to take cuttings, can last over the years.
  • borgadrborgadr Posts: 718
    Will be sowing amongst other things Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm' under glass in the next month (not strictly bedding, since it's perennial).
    Anyone know whether it's likely to flower in the first year?
  • chickychicky Posts: 10,410
    It should do @borgadr ....they don’t flower til late summer, so your seedlings will have plenty of time to get big enough.  I grow the half hardy varieties from seed every year (Rudbeckia hirta) and always get a great display that lasts from July til November.
Sign In or Register to comment.