Sowing annuals

Annual flowers are among the easiest plants you can grow. They're ideal for filling gaps, or simply producing a dazzling display of colour from summer to the first frosts. There's a great choice of annuals in our garden centre in Surrey: here's how to get perfect results every time.

Under cover: half-hardy annuals can't cope with frost: sow into pots in spring to plant out later
1: Fill trays with seed compost: you'll find the equipment you need in our garden centre
2: Place in a shallow bowl of water to soak up moisture from the bottom
3: Sow seeds sparingly, and cover lightly with vermiculite or more compost
4: Pot on seedlings as they grow, then plant out after the last frost.

Direct outside: hardy annuals can be sown straight into the garden from March
1: Weed the bed and rake the whole site level. Water if necessary.
2: Mark areas for each type of seed, dividing the bed into irregular sections
3: Make drills 1/2cm deep within each section to identify your seedlings as they come up in lines
4: Sow sparingly into each drill, cover lightly with soil and water

Please ask the staff in our Surrey garden centre for more information and advice about growing annuals from seed.