Sowing seeds – The next generation of gardeners
I remember the very first pack of flower seeds I ever sowed. I was at the tender age of 5 and they were Alyssum – ‘Carpet of snow’. Because I wasn’t disappointed with these sweet scented annuals, I gained a real appreciation of the wonders of growing things in my parents back garden.
I believe it is important to get children involved in gardening from an early age. Selecting the right kind of projects for them is critical. There is no point buying seeds that are a challenge to grow for even the most experienced gardener. With thousands of varieties to choose from, which plants will give the best results and provide oceans of colour in a timescale that will suit the most impatient child? For a good selection of child-friendly garden flowers to grow from seed, read on.
Easy grow flowers for your children
- French Marigolds & Tagetes – a favourite of mine – lovely herbal scent, quick to flower.
- Violas & Pansies – Quick to flower, some varieties can even be grown/flower in winter.
- Snapdragons (Antirrhinum) – Amusing flowers with open and shut mouths. Not so quick to flower but easy to grow.
- Cosmos – Grow tall and quickly and flower all summer.
- Sweetpeas - Look great and many varieties carry an incredible scent – small ‘peas’ not to be eaten – care is needed with very small children.
- Sweet Williams – Reasonable fast growing and easy to maintain + sweet scented.
- Alyssum – Very easy to grow, looks great in borders and smells of honey! My childhood favourite.
- Virginia Stock – Unbelievably easy to grow and looks great.
- Wallflower - Not so quick to flower, but easy to grow and sweetly scented. Perfect for the Spring garden.
- Sunflower - An old reliable! Very fast growing with large flowers. If these don’t impress your children…what will???
- Cornflower - Just scatter and wait – colour in no time at all.
- Nasturtium – Very easy, grows like a triffid! Interesting edible foliage and flowers – perfect for adding a peppery bite to a salad. A real ‘must have’ for your children.
- Candytuft - Another ‘scatter and wait’. You can get your children to collect the seeds after for next year!
- African Daisy – Lovely ‘cartoony’ daisy flowers in pastel shades – easy to grow.
- Forget-me-not – Scatter and forget, they will soon fill your garden with pale blue, pink and white.
- Pot marigold (Calendula) – Lovely old herb…very easy to grow, some varieties can be used in salads and very collectible.
- Tobacco plant – Not for smoking! Easy to grow and hosts lovely, scented flowers in a varieties of colours.
- Zinnia - very easy and attractive blooms.
PLEASE NOTE: Be aware that some seeds are poisonous if consumed and young children should not be left unattended with them.