Think Spring - Early Season Seeding

   At this time of year flats of gorgeous bedding plants wait patiently in greenhouses and nurseries for favorable weather, but it’s not too early to sow more hardy annuals in the ground for mid and late season blooms. The added benefit is many of these flowers will do their part and reseed the next year.

   Sunflowers – This epitome of summer is sometimes unknowingly planted by our feathered friends who kick it out of their feeder. If you’d rather have more control over where these potential giants spring up, or choose some of the more decorative varieties such as ‘Monet’s Palette’ or ‘Moulin Rouge’, either transplant the seedlings from underneath the feeder or peruse the seed rack for interesting varieties. Plant in succession starting at the end of April to have blooms throughout the summer.

   Clarkia – Single blossoms in shades of pink, purplish and salmon stretch the length of the erect, three-foot tall stalks. Seeded early in the season, clarkia continues to bloom throughout the summer creating a striking background to shorter annuals or perennials.

   Calendula – Also called ‘pot marigold’ these cheerful, prolific flowers come back year after year once you start them. Sow the large seeds as soon as the soil can be worked. Thin the plants to a foot apart. The flower petals can be used in salads, as well as in muffins giving them a cheerful yellowy-orange hue.

   Sweet Peas - Plant the seeds now for a heavenly fragrance in the middle of summer. It's best to soak the seeds overnight to help soften the thick outer shell. Plant a couple of inches apart along a fence or trellis, and be sure to keep watered for happy blooms. Without question, these are some of my favorite flowers, and this year I'm planning on using them to help conceal the unsightly chain link surrounding the yard.

   Cosmos – It’s remarkable such a sturdy plant can come from virtually nothing every season. These bushy plants will easily reach four-feet tall with stalks of colorful 2 to 3 inch blossoms. Seed in late April and stand back. The only way to keep it from reseeding is to pick all of the flowers throughout the season, which will often stretch into October, but it’s well worth having it return every summer.

   Bachelor Buttons – Although the light-purple bachelor buttons look eerily like our Montana nemesis, spotted knapweed, these old fashioned flowers are a delight to have in the garden. Flowers found in shades of white, pink, blue, purple and a stunning magenta. Scatter seeds early in the season and space the plants a foot apart.

   Larkspur – Larkspur is a slow-germinating annual cousin of delphiniums, the giants of summer. They grow best when sown in early spring while the soil is still 40-50 degrees. Single or double flowers from a pure white to a royal purple, which are prized in fresh and dried arrangements, cling to stalks often reaching nearly four-feet tall. Larkspur has an added benefit of being undesirable to deer. And as long as you leave some of the flowers to reseed, you’ll have more coming back next year.

   By including these traditional cottage garden style annuals, the impatient gardener has a reason to work in the dirt early in the spring and enjoy the benefits for years.