Flowers in the gravel.

beautiful

What a breath-taking sight... Beautiful indeed !
I tried to grow some from seed, to no avail.

I tried a new purple variety in a flowerbed this year, and I have a few flowers but what a disappointment after the more usual kind! They are very small and frail. I'm going to try again next year. What went wrong with yours?

My seeds didn't germinate *Sad face*
Please let me know how to germinate the seeds ; I followed the seed packet instructions... to no avail.

I am so surprised, Gardenogre. If you buy the 'ordinary' ones, they germinate very easily indeed. You need to prepare the soil and then sprinkle them on - don't cover them deeply. I would leave sowing them until the spring, now to be safe, I think. Once you have them, they seed themselves - sometimes in unexpected places!

Love this, I am a learner so can you tell me what the flowers are and what to do with them in the gravel please

Hi Bidget - the blue ones are Nigella damascena - 'Love-in-the-Mist'. The purply ones are Geranium sanguineum striatum.

Nigella is an annual - but once it's established in your garden, it seeds itself. You can buy packets of seed - I recommend Nigella 'Miss Jekyll', this pale blue one, as it germinates well.

To start it off in your gravel, wait until the spring, then sprinkle the seed all over the area - sprinkle some water over them and they will grow! You don't need to cover the seeds with compost.

The seedlings look like tiny frilly pale green plants when they start to emerge..

The geraniums seed themselves as well - but they started as little plants. You can buy them quite cheaply. Get small ones, and they'll soon spread.

Good luck! Please do ask or PM me if you need any more info.