We love some easy gardening

Hardy annuals are simple to sow and grow, says Ruth

- Ruth Hayes

ONE of the most exciting things about this time of year is that the soil is generally warm enough to sow hardy annual seeds directly.

Half-hardy seeds still need starting off undercover, but their hardier cousins will do very well scattered thinly into a prepared seedbed outside now.

This week’s free seeds are ‘Quick and Easy’ mixed annuals and contain several varieties including poppies, corn cockles, stocks, and calendulas.

Sown now, they will thrive in a sunny patch of well-prepared soil. I have sown ours in a corner of the garden that gets a lot of afternoon sun. I have already planted several wildlife-friendly perennials there and will add a stand of sweet peas in a few weeks’ time.

The Cosmos seeds I sowed in three types of seed compost – peat-free, homemade and compost containing peat – have germinated and developed their first sets of ‘proper’ leaves.