I have a garden in my new house. Which month and week do I clear this year's annuals and sow the seeds for next year's annuals so that they germinate over winter and come up early in the spring?
Depends on the annuals, and where you live - climate etc. Mainly Spring for sowing here. They don't grow well over winter, and certainly wouldn't be up early in spring.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Seems like there are quite a few varieties you should sow now. Though I was thinking is it a bit early to sow poppies? The (self-seeded) poppies only turned up in my border in June.
I think some annual plants have different requirements to others but many don't germinate in cold weather over winter and wait until where they are growing warms up to sprout up and grow. You can plant indoors if you have space and give many of them a head start for next years growth but that depends on how much space you have and for some plants they will not benefit much from being left too long indoors in lower light levels before being planted out. I don't think there is a particular month and week for every annual.
I never posted an advert, Fairygirl. I am an electronic engineer and data scientist. I have nothing to do with any products in any form anywhere except in EE and AI.
I am very environmentally active. I got into gardening only because my newly bought apartment came with a big garden and I want to make it an oasis for bees and butterflies in our town which is, like most places, a FOOD DESERT to bees, butterflies, birds, hedgehogs, and foxes due to man's activities.
I just posted my experience here. You are probably used to spammers and categorized my innocent post along with that.
I never posted an advert, Fairygirl. I am an electronic engineer and data scientist. I have nothing to do with any products in any form anywhere except in EE and AI.
I am very environmentally active. I got into gardening only because my newly bought apartment came with a big garden and I want to make it an oasis for bees and butterflies in our town which is, like most places, a FOOD DESERT to bees, butterflies, birds, hedgehogs, and foxes due to man's activities.
I just posted my experience here. You are probably used to spammers and categorized my innocent post along with that.
Why are you just sticking to growing annuals if this is a big garden that you have just bought? Some of the most popular flowering plants with bees and butterflies are shrubs, perennials and biennials that can have a much wider flowering time than many annuals as they maintain a good living root system through the colder months of the year when many annuals are not very active. Currently in my own garden there are buddleia that are working very well for the butterflies and some people actually call butterfly bush and also an aster that is now in full bloom that has all sorts of pollinators active on it after being growing in the same place for a couple of years. I read before that if we want to be most supportive for pollinators then it is good to pick the plants we find they are most active on and also provide different shaped flowers over as long a period of time over the year as possible. I have put playlists for videos of my own garden based on what is flowering in different months of the year if that is any help with filling any gaps in the food desert you are planning to help with.
Stuff like honesty and wallflowers you need to sow the previous summer, stuff like cornflowers, calendula (English marigolds), poppies you can sow now along with putting your spring bulbs in, sweetpeas will be end of autumn, some things you might start in a propagator over the winter (antirrhinums, dahlias, cosmos), a lot you can wait and sow outside directly in spring (tagetes type marigolds, wildflowers incl cornflowers, scabiosa, delphiniums/hollyhocks If you haven't got them going the previous year, cosmos if you don't mind waiting till autumn for blooms). Just check the seed packet of whatever flower you want and sow accordingly.
You don't have to clear this year's plants before sowing these as you can start them in seedtrays or small pots- I have to do this with most seedlings or else slugs/snails munch almost everything bar cosmos and antirrhinums).
Also don't forget autumn is a great time for bulbs like daffs or tulips to go out, and in November you can put in some bareroot roses.
I have some perennials, Robaird. Salvia Royal Bumble, Blackadder Hyssops, some catnips, and Gailladias. I just bought 3 Bluebeards, too. For butterflies, I have 3 lilacs that will be big enough to flower only next year. But I will add a Buddleia, too, thanks!
I bought my hollyhocks as plug-plants and they brought rust into the garden with them. I have just cleared them and all the rust leaves. Next season I want to replace them with Verbascum from seeds for a few seasons until the rust is gone from my garden.
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Mainly Spring for sowing here. They don't grow well over winter, and certainly wouldn't be up early in spring.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Seems like there are quite a few varieties you should sow now. Though I was thinking is it a bit early to sow poppies? The (self-seeded) poppies only turned up in my border in June.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I am very environmentally active. I got into gardening only because my newly bought apartment came with a big garden and I want to make it an oasis for bees and butterflies in our town which is, like most places, a FOOD DESERT to bees, butterflies, birds, hedgehogs, and foxes due to man's activities.
I just posted my experience here. You are probably used to spammers and categorized my innocent post along with that.
You don't have to clear this year's plants before sowing these as you can start them in seedtrays or small pots- I have to do this with most seedlings or else slugs/snails munch almost everything bar cosmos and antirrhinums).
Also don't forget autumn is a great time for bulbs like daffs or tulips to go out, and in November you can put in some bareroot roses.
Salvia Royal Bumble, Blackadder Hyssops, some catnips, and Gailladias.
I just bought 3 Bluebeards, too.
For butterflies, I have 3 lilacs that will be big enough to flower only next year.
But I will add a Buddleia, too, thanks!
I bought my hollyhocks as plug-plants and they brought rust into the garden with them. I have just cleared them and all the rust leaves. Next season I want to replace them with Verbascum from seeds for a few seasons until the rust is gone from my garden.