Perennial flowers may not bloom their first year, but if you have the patience to wait, you can fill your garden for a fraction of the cost of buying mature plants. Annual flowers will bloom right on schedule, and many of them will even seed themselves, so you’ll only have to plant them once to receive years of beautiful blooms. If you’ve been dreaming of nonstop color, pick up some seed packets, and get started with the tips below. Keep in mind, annual flowers tend to grow quickly, so even those you direct sow outdoors in the spring will flower at their usual bloom time or very soon afterward. Just about any of the annuals that self-sow are good candidates for starting from seed, either indoors or direct sown. After your perennial flowers are established, they will begin blooming and grow larger every year. In a few years’ time, you’ll be able to make even more plants by dividing the ones you have.
Winter sowing: To sow your seeds in the winter, you’ll want to start them outdoors while the temperatures are still frigid. Not all seeds can survive freezing temperatures, but there are some that need the freezing and thawing action to break dormancy or to crack their hard coverings, including heartier vegetables like broccoli, beets, and carrots. Scarification: Seeds with really tough or thick coverings (think: apples, nasturtium, and false indigo) can take forever to germinate. Scarification (nicking them or rubbing them with sandpaper) can help give them a jump start and speed up the process a bit. Stratification: Stratification is a way to simulate the warming and cooling conditions seeds would be privy to if left in their natural environment through the winter. It’s especially useful for people in zones that don’t have a long enough (or cold enough) winter for their desired plant, as well as any gardener looking to harvest delicate perennials like delphinium and violets, which will germinate more seeds if they’re put through the process.
Some seeds may require hardening off (exposing to cool temperatures) before planting outside, but this will be noted on the seed packet if required. Prepackaged wildflower seed mixes are a great way to start off your garden. The label will list how wide of an area the package will cover, and some larger bags may even come with fertilizer and mulch mixed in with the tiny seeds. You’ll need to keep your eye on the wildflower area for balance between species (overseeding the species you want, annually, can help). Any perennials in the mix may not sprout the first year. Weeds will want to encroach while the area becomes established too, so you’ll need diligence in your efforts to pull those. Just remember, the results of your efforts will be well worth the work to establish the wildflower garden. Remember that hybrid plants will not grow the same as their parent plants (a pink flower may get you red and white plants the next year, for example), but heirloom self-pollinated plants will grow true (just like their parents). If you already have enough of your existing plants and want something different, either swap seeds or start the seedlings next spring anyway and swap them with friends. Look for seed swaps in your community, at public gardens, or online, or start one of your own.
