Cool Season Flowers That Overwinter To Bloom Early In Spring
There is no rest for us flower growers. A constant cycle of sowing seeds, planting out seedlings, harvesting those beautiful blooms and then starting again, clearing out and prepping beds and repeating. An absolute labour of love, some say "Gardening is therapy".
Although the temperatures are dropping, there is still so much that can be sown. Cool season flowers sown now will establish strong root systems over winter, this allows them to absorb all the nutrients and moisture from the soil thus giving them all they need to burst into life in early spring!
Here is a list of some cool season flowers to sow now for early spring blooms:
- Candytuft
- Alyssum
- Carnation
- Larkspur
- Stock
- Snapdragon (cool season varieties)
- Sweet Peas
- Forget Me Not
- Cornflower
- Baby's Breath
- Gaillardia
- Hollyhock
- Viola
- Calendula
- Queen Anne's Lace
- Bupleurum Griffithii
- Lavender
- Nigella
- Poppy
- Statice
- Delphinium
- Nasturtium
- Lunaria
- Aquilegia in cool climate
- Daffodils and other spring flowering bulbs
- Mulching around the base of the plants can help protect them from extreme temperatures.
- If frosts are in your area you may want to invest in some frost covers to keep those baby seedlings snug!
- The cooler weather in autumn is a great time to sow many Australian natives. When waiting for natives to germinate, I always say please be patient and don't discard them too early. Natives may take a little longer than others to germinate, they are just waiting for their perfect conditions.
