what seeds can I sow now for flowering this year?

[user09876543]

I have lots of empty raised beds and would like flowers!

Most things. Cosmos germinate quickly, sunflowers, calendula, etc etc. it would be worth investing in plants/seedlings that come back every year like lavender, rosemary, Erigeron etc.

Cosmos are great, they grow really quite big, loads of flowers and keep flowering for months

Basically, any annuals, ie anything marked HA or HHA, Biennials and perennials may not flower till next year.

Still time for dahlia tubers

What colours do you like?
Do you want flowers all summer long?
I would go for a mixture to see you through till October:
Cosmos
Ammi Majus
Cornflowers
Nigella
Marigolds
Rudbeckia
Sunflowers
Poppies

I would also get some chrysanthemum and dahlia tubers as they are fab for later and will come back next year

Erigeron is gorgeous, care free and fills in gaps beautifully. Self seeds too and pots of it are lovely just on their own.

Zinnias are easy, go on a long time into the autumn & very colourful

there’s a lovely small pale pink cosmos

and always nasturtiums and California poppies

This year I've sown alyssum (smells of honey in the sunshine), opium poppies ('Pink Paeony', the tall ones with the huge fluffy pink flowers), Nigella 'Miss Jekyll' (with the bright blue flowers and weird seed heads), and a tall variety of sunflower. All sown directly onto/in the ground. In autumn I collect seeds from the poppies, nigella and sunflowers, to save having to buy new ones next spring.

I'm planning on planting Thunbergia alata 'Superstar Orange' and the blue morning glory Ipomoea tricolor 'Heavenly Blue'
in root trainers this weekend, to grow up poles alongside the French beans, and Ricinus communis, 'Impala' the castor oil plant, which grows into an enormous tropical looking triffid with deadly poisonous seeds.

Normally I also start a few heliotropes in the greenhouse, to plant in containers alongside the alyssum, so I can sit out and enjoy the scents of honey and warm cherry pie. Didn't get round to it this year though.

Anyone seen if any of of the nurseries are selling baby heliotrope plants cheaply this year? Sometimes you can get 5 on special offer, for not much money at all.

Ok I’ve just planted some sunflowers since I had some seeds. I’ve also got a packet of cosmos, a packet of zinnia and a packet of dahlias (seeds not tubers). Also some sea lavender and some straw flowers. Is it worth putting all of these in and seeing what they do? I thought I was too late and none of them have planting guides on the back of them.

All of those should be ok. If you want o give them a head start plant in trays on the windowsill (or greenhouse if you have access to one.

if you planting straight into the bed do it in rows rather than scattering (I do diagonal so it isn’t too formal) because then you can see when they have come up and which are weeds - you won’t see the lines once they’ve grown.

It's actually the perfect time for outdoor seed planting! Almost no chance of frosts, and the ground will be very moist after the rain we've had, plus the next couple of weeks will be on an improving trend, with around 20C average depending where you are UK.

It's not too late it's only early May. Some seeds benefit from being started indoors where it's a bit warmer, others will happily germinate in the ground. If you put them in a few weeks late it usually only means that they flower a bit later than they would have done if you'd got them in earlier. It's also possible to be too optimistic, and earlier sowings get stunted by cold and damp and get overtaken by the exact same seeds sown a few weeks later.

I hate seed packets that arrive without planting instructions, though with the internet it isn't too hard to search for each seed variety and find instructions on when and how to plant them in the UK.

So much depends on the weather, and our climate is never predictable, so each year is a gamble, and the results are rarely the same, even when you plant the same seeds every year.

I just found 5 baby heliotrope trope plants for £11.15 (including postage) in Sarah Raven's sale. https://www.sarahraven.com/products/heliotrope-midnight-sky

Nasturtiums