Am I too late to grow anything?

[IceLemonGin]

Moved into our house last year, the garden a complete jungle, we have spent the last couple of weeks toiling away out there and have a nice area that would look great with some pots/planters.

Am I too late to grow anything now? Ideally something easy as I have a toddler so don't have masses of time to devote to pruning etc.

[IceLemonGin]

Forgot to say...thanks in advance!

[silversixpence]

Not at all, although I would probably use plug plants or go down to the garden centre and pick a few things. What sort of plants did you have in mind?

[Ferguson]

Cosmos are quick growing for plenty of colour in a few weeks:

www.dailymail.co.uk/home/gardening/article-2203090/Monty-Dons-gardening-tips-Cosmos-just-world.html

And the quickest and easiest veg are courgettes; come in green or yellow varieties - though both taste the same. They grow VERY LARGE so need plenty of space:

grow seed on a windowsill NOW, and place each see on its side:

www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/vegetables/courgettes?type=v

[traviata]

do you mean that you'd like a few pretty pots to decorate your cleared space?

if so - you could sow seeds of annual plants such as cosmos, corn flower, nigella, escholzia, sunflowers, nasturtiums. They will come up as seedlings and will be proper flowering plants by July. The toddler might enjoy sowing seeds and watching the results;
OR
you could lay out a few ££ at the garden centre, buy some bedding plants and put them into pots and/or the ground, and you will have instant or very quick pretty plants for the next few months.

what about the future? Do you plan to do gardening or do you not really have time? Either is fine, they just need different strategies.

[IceLemonGin]

Sorry I didn't come back sooner! The pretty pots sound ideal, I'd rather grow something that spend a small fortune at the garden centre as I reckon the sense of achievement would be good and a bit of an education for the toddler!

In future, I will have more time to spend in the garden. Next year I'd like to plant a border down the side of my garden. I don't think I'd have chance to grow veggies as it's not a huge garden and I know they take a bit more tlc.

Thanks for your replies, I am off to buy some seeds

[fiorentina]

You could also buy a few hardy herbs and put them in pots, that's quite rewarding! Thyme, mint, Rosemary, bay etc. They grow fast and are useful too..?!

[Belleende]

My local market is much cheaper than the garden centre for plants. For £20 You could come out with enough for 5 or 6 decent size pots. You could also plant some flowering shrubs for instant colour that comes back every year

[JuxtapositionRecords]

The great thing about this time of year is the garden centres are flogging the spring flowering perennials