Sow your summer flowers from seeds directly in the garden

Grow your own

Direct sowing means that you skip the step of pre-cultivating indoors and sow directly in the outdoor bed. You get a nice bed faster, save on indoor cultivation area, and avoid some of the transplanting of seedlings and acclimatization in the spring. You can also sow in the autumn for an earlier blooming in the spring. The seeds then lie dormant, waiting for the right temperature to start growing.

What does direct seeding entail?

When sowing directly, you rake the surface where the seeds will be sown and distribute the seeds according to the recommendations. You rake the soil back, water it, and wait for the plants to grow. The seeded area should be kept moist until the plants start to grow properly.

Preparations

As soon as the soil temperature reaches 5 degrees, you can start preparing it for direct sowing. This is how you should think when preparing the growing site.

- Remove weeds.
- Rake out any unevenness.
- Spread out a little compost or fertilizer and mix it into the soil.
- If the soil has a coarse texture, you can mix in some flower soil.
- Warm up the soil a couple of weeks before direct sowing, using a covering plastic.
- To protect the plants from strong sunlight, you can cover them with a thin row cover for the first few weeks.

Spread out or in rows

When sowing directly, you can choose to sow in rows or broadcast.

Sowing in rows - Dig a small furrow with a small spade or by hand. The furrow is watered before the seeds are placed in the ground and covered.

Broadcast - Broadcasting means that you spread the seeds over a certain area, cover them with a thin layer of soil, and press down with your hand. Broadcasting generally works better for small seeds and when growing plants in larger quantities.

Mark with tags

When the seeds are underground, you should label the names with tags so that you know what is coming up. This way, you won't risk accidentally weeding out the sprouting seeds. Place the labels on small sticks and stick them into the ground.

Summer flowers to succeed with

Many summer flowers are suitable for direct sowing in the garden or flower bed in the spring and summer, usually between April and June. It is nice to have flowers and vegetables next to each other in the kitchen garden.

Here are some favorites for direct sowing - flowers that grow quickly and provide a lovely colorful bed.
Marigold - Marigold comes in many shades, so choose the one that looks best in your bed. Think about sowing the seeds quite closely together and move the flowers as they grow so there is more space. Water the row before sowing the seeds.

Sunflower - Direct sow sunflower in May or early June for a beautiful bed. Sunflowers grow rapidly and come in different varieties and heights.

Cosmos - Cosmos is a flower that blooms later in the fall. When you sow it, consider placing the seeds in a way that the flowers later have a kind of support as they tend to grow tall. Avoid fertilizing too much as the flowers thrive in nutrient-poor soil.

Poppy - This beautiful red flower is a delight in any bed. It is easy to grow and can be sown in both summer and fall. Poppy produces beautiful seed pods that can be dried and used for decoration.

Cornflower - Cornflower is a hardy and strong flower that enjoys the company of vegetables in the garden. It can be directly sown in April-May, but if you sow it in late summer, you will get early blooming next year.

Summer flowers to sow in the autumn

Some perennial summer flowers, or perennials as they are also called, can advantageously be sown in the autumn. This applies, for example, to bluebells, marigolds, daisies, and lavender. Lavender seeds need a certain cold period to grow better. The seeds lie in the ground, waiting for the light and warmth of spring to start growing.

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Grow your own