You can grow a lovely flower garden simply by directly sowing seeds of annual flowers. Starting seeds in the garden is easy, though it does require some patience. You won’t see many flowers for the first couple of months. But after they arrive, they often will bloom until frost hits. Unlike perennial flowers, which generally take two years to start blooming, annuals are quick growers and eager to get down to the business of blooming. Here are 12 of the easiest annual flowers to grow from seed.
It’s highly cost-effective to grow flowers from seed, as you’ll get more plants than if you purchased seedlings. Plus, depending on the conditions, some of these plants might reseed, giving you free plants for the next growing season.
1. Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima)
This sweet honey fragrant flower is blooming from spring to frost. You can do indoor seeding before last frost or direct sow outside.
Sprinkle the seeds over the soil and press them down lightly with your finger. Keep the soil moist until the seeds germinate.
2. Marigold (Tagetes)
It’s hard not to love a marigold’s bright yellow, orange, and red flowers. Happily, this is one of the easiest seeds to grow. You can sow marigold seeds directly into the garden after the last frost date. If you start seeds indoors, sow seeds one-eighth inch deep. Look for sprouts in less than a week.
3. Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus)
The plump, round seeds of nasturtiums are easy to plant, germinating in around seven to 10 days. They tend to produce a mound of round leaves first and then nonstop bright, cheerful flowers after around 60 days. The whole plant is edible—even the seeds, which make great fake capers.
Nasturtium seeds are fairly large and can be planted directly in the garden or in containers or hanging pots after the last frost of the season. They germinate best in warm soil.
4. Petunia (Petunia × atkinsiana)
This flower is the most famous option for a container garden. Although it is easy to grow from seed, it requires indoor seeding about three months before the last frost.
Sprinkle petunia seeds in the garden bed in early spring. They can also be started indoors about 10 weeks before planting time.
5. Poppy (Papaver somniferum)
Annual poppies don’t like being transplanted, so directly sowing in the garden is optimal. You can sow in early spring, even before the ground has thawed.
Most varieties of poppies will reseed, so you’ll have free plants the next year.
6. Snapdragon (Antirrhinum Majus)
The seeds can be started indoors about six to ten weeks before the last frost in spring.
Snapdragon is a tender perennial, frost tolerant but treat it as an annual in a colder zone. The long cluster flower spike is excellent for cut flower and good for edging. Cut the spent flowers to encourage more blooms.