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Sweet William, the must have cut flower for late Spring

Sweet William bridge the cut flower gap between daffodils and all the wonderful cut and come again summer annual flowers. I grow Sweet William ‘Auricula Eyed Mixed’, A range of pinks in every shade and white, some even with stripes. This year they’re growing amongst self sown Nigella, the combination is perfect. They have competed for space, providing me with lovely straight long stems, perfect for cutting. They’re also self supporting each other, no need for netting which I forgot to put in place earlier in the year!

Nigella and sweet williamThe wonderful froth of Nigella and Sweet William

Nigella and Sweet William in the cutting gardenNigella and Sweet William in buckets

Some close ups:

Light blue nigella

White Nigella

Dark pink sweet william

Pink stripped sweet william

Pink Sweet William

White sweet william

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How to get an earlier cut flower crop next year

Autumn is the time to sow hardy annual flowers. They can of course be sown in Spring, but, sowing now enables you to bring the flowering season forward, you can enjoy cut flowers weeks if not a month early. Sow directly into the soil where they will flower, or as I’ve done sow in pots and over winter in a cold frame. I like to sow a green manure over winter in the cut flower bed. My October cut flower sowings have included, Nigella, Ammi, Cerinthe, Godetia, Cornflower Sweet Peas, Bupleurum rotundifolium, Anethum ‘Graveolens Mariska’ also know as Florists Dill, Larkspur and Calendula.

Hardy annual flower seeds

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Rhubarb and a few more flowers in a vase

I always end up growing more that my family can eat. At the moment the crop in question is rhubarb, the children refuse to eat any more and I must admit, I think I’ve had my fill of it for this year! The solution, a little stall on the road, it’s my own little pound shop in the heart of Kent!

RhubarbRhubarb I’ve just picked for the stall

Produce from the garden stallMy stall by the side of the road

Following on from my last blog I have popped a couple of white Nigella and cornflower ‘black ball’ in a little vase. I think they work very well together.

Nigella and cornflowers in a vaseNigella and cornflowers