Annual report

Val looks at the joys of sowing and saving annual seed

I GROW a lot of hardy annuals from seed, because they are among the most pollinator-friendly plants of all. This was reinforced several years ago when there was an RHS trial of hardy annuals on the Portsmouth Field at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey.

The annuals in the trial were all sown directly into the soil in the first week of May – and up they came. There were at least a dozen other trials on the field that summer, but it was the annuals that drew in the bees, hoverflies and butterflies. You could hear the buzz and see the snowstorm of activity above the flowers.

Hardy annuals are primed to flower and set seeds, but you can extend the flowering season if you take the trouble to deadhead. This prevents seed being set, so at the moment I’m snipping away with my scissors every time I go out. However, I always leave some plants alone from mid-August onwards, so they can form seedheads. I wait for a fine day in early autumn and collect cosmos, African marigold, nigella, calendula, cornflower and scabious. Midday is best. They are dried, cleaned and put into old envelopes with a label, ready for sowing next spring. I get plenty of junk mail about old people’s homes, stair lifts and hearing aids, and the envelopes can come in very handy!