Any seeds I can plant that will flower this year?

[Batsypatsy]

I'm moving in a week and will have a small yard with not much sun. I'd like to plant pots but on a budget. Is there anything I can plant that will flower this year?

I've tried nasturtiums before but they barely flowered because they became covered in black fly and I can't spray because my cats chew things in the garden.

Just looking for something cheap and cheerful.

Anything that says annual on the packet though they normally do better in sin.

Pansies would be good for shade, or geraniums or marigolds too, thought by for quick colour id get a tray of little plants. They can be cheap enough in Lidl or poundshops and places like that.
You could also buy a packet of seed and chance putting them down in your now empty tray. Worth a shot even if they take a while to flower.

Non climbing Sweet peas, phlox, night scented stocks

I like herbs in pots too, chives, thyme etc usually flower at some point and are duel use!

Night scented stock is lovely- pretty flowers and great scent and literally as easy as throwing down the seeds

Oh and how could I forget poppies.

Maybe get some wildflower mixes - good for bees and dont need much attention

Plug plants? Morrisons, Aldi etc are cheap and cheerful. If you strike at the right time B&Q and Homebase start to get more in than they can sell and you can find trays marked down to £1 or so.

Figure out which bits of your garden get the most sun. Do you have a patio? Maybe focus on making that area nice rather than tackling the whole space if it's overwhelming.

With pots remember to water them daily as they dry out quickly in full sun.

Begonias and fuchsias (trailing, upright) do well in shade. Most other annuals like a good bit of sun.

Thanks. I love geraniums and night scented stocks.

Do you mean seeds or plants? If seed, when will they flower?

Are all these fairly resilient to black fly?

It's a really tiny yard due to kitchen and bathroom being added on to the house and gets barely any sun due to very high walls around it.

Check if you're sowing seeds as a lot need a bit of sun really. Cosmos are meant to be easy to grow, I'm going to try some this year.

Thanks, I'll check. I'll look up cosmos now. Will they flower this year if planted from seed next week?

Don't forget to sow or plant catmint.

What about getting a few packets of Cottage Garden Mixed seeds. They are widely available and quite cheap, and will flower this summer. They might include flowers such as cornflower, marigold, and stock, they are good value for a colourful show.

Rather than planting seeds, you might be better off buying multipacks of plants like petunias, pansies, lobelia and geraniums, since you'll only want a small amount for a small space.

I would focus on fuchsia and begonia plug plants. You can get the round leafed bedding begonias with pink/red/white flowers or the jazzier trailing varieties (red, white, yellow, orange, pink etc).
Fuchsias come in lots of different pink/purple/white combinations, some have gorgeous ruffly petals. Morrisons sell them for £1 in plastic sleeves.

I think you'll struggle to get seeds going if it's terribly shaded. I'm not the world's greatest seed-grower, maybe someone else will be able to recommend something that reliably grows in shade

I can't remember how geraniums do in shade. I thought they were pretty bomb proof but the internet seems to suggest full sun. I'm sure mine do alright in shade!

ps I never get a good show with wildflower/cottage garden seed mixes despite planting them in full sun!

Most of the suggestions on this thread need at least a bit of sun.

I'd also go for plug plants. I got a load of jumbo ones from my local garden centre at rhe weekend for next to nothing, growing from seed really is hit and miss and takes time. It's also not that cheap in comparison.

Morning Glory if you got anything for something to climb up - the blue or purple ones are lovely, soak them first for 24 hours. They'll scramble up anything, they don't need trellis.

I'd also look for plug plants, or even multipacks of annual bedding plants. Many of the online garden shops like Suttons have good offers on this time of year - I just recently bought a pack of 18 bedding plants for £10 from them and they are just starting to flower now. Seeds are not particularly cheap and require more work.

Nearly all the popular plug plants (aka annual bedding) need SUN

I stick a bit of creeping jenny in the front of my pots and baskets as I like the trailing effect. It probably prefers sun but tolerates shade and I like the contrast of the golden green leaves with my begonias and fuchsias.

Nearly all the popular plug plants (aka annual bedding) need SUN

Busy Lizzies are ok in shade, IME.

Thanks, lots of ideas, but seems most will struggle without sun.

I've had luck with geraniums in the shade before and they seem to go on and on flowering, so I'll look for some to plant.

I'll forget the seeds and see what plug plants I can get cheap.

Thanks Errol I'll add them to my shady list!

I've been growing acers in pots in a north facing garden. Some of them get a little evening sun, others get no direct sun at all but they don't seem to mind. No flowers, but the ones with the lacy leaves look quite pretty. This year I am trying a hydrangea in a pot. According to google they need a bit of sun but can cope with quite shady conditions. Buddleia is also said to do quite well in pots in shade but it triggers my hayfever so I'm not going to try it. Acers and hydrangea are quite cheap from Morrisons and Aldi are selling buddleia plants this week.

Gareth is right I think - fuschia and bizzie lizzies/impatiens plug plants will grown in shade .

Bacopa www.jparkers.co.uk/begonia-scopia-mixed-collection-1 might be ok .

Oh yes my hydrangea loves the shade. On fact it wilts in the sun!

I have a Hydrangea quercifolia which I recently potted from the ground due to some ground work being done. It was sitting in full sun in it's new pot and doing fine and I movedit to a very shaded area that gets no sun and it's went nuts and is growing like mad. So clearly prefers it there. 🤷‍♀️