Not to be sneezed at!

These little seeds pack such a big punch, says Ruth

- Ruth Hayes

LOBELIA is a mainstay of many summer displays, looking glorious tumbling down the sides of containers and fountaining out of baskets.

This week’s free seeds are for lobelia ‘Cascade Mixed’, which will bring a tumbling carnival of colour to pots and baskets for months on end.

The plants grow to 12in (30cm) and produce a wealth of pretty flowers in white and shades of pink and purple.

Do be careful when sowing though – lobelia seeds are dustlike in size and one ill-timed sneeze could lose them all!

Their size makes them quite tricky to scatter evenly, so I find it helpful to mix them with a pinch of horticultural sand in the palm of my hand, and scatter the mixture over the compost. Don’t cover the seeds with compost, vermiculite or perlite as it will hinder their germination.