Seeds

Good luck.....some will be easier to germinate and grow on than others. I've never had much success with Lupins from Seed and only limited with Delphiniums. But, the cornflowers should be simple and certainly the Allysyum and Poppies.
I have some Cosmos already germinated.They are fairly straight forward.....just make sure they all get plenty of light once germinated so they don't get too long and leggy.
Good luck!

Thanks Paul the Lupins look good so far but this is trial and error so I'am expecting to lose some, never had Cosmos before looks a nice colourful plant I've read they can get very leggy if they have insufficient light

also, with cosmos......if they are the taller varieties, they will benefit from staking as , come late summer they can get so tall and topple/blow over!

Thanks for the info Paul it gets quite windy here

I have been growing cosmos from seed this year too. So far germination has been very patchy indeed. Not a great success. Lupins are easy though. I tried Delphiniums last year...hopeless. Fox gloves, cornflowers and night scented stock all do well. I'm trying Nigella this year too...its usually easy but best direct sown in soil outdoors, as is night-scented stock. Good luck! :))

My cosmos have germinated well too. Foxgloves can take two years to flower sometimes so if yours don't flower this year be patient. The love in a mist is best sown outside and in a group. The seed heads are pretty dried too.

Thanks Karen I've tried Delphiniums before with no luck but I figured if I try them from seed and I have no luck this time at least the cost is minimum, Hi Steragram I was thinking of keeping the foxgloves / Delphiniums & lupins in pots until the second year would this be a better option ?

We all go over the top at first Vic, truth to tell I still do it as I always grew for mum and dad as well and tend to forget they are no longer here..I cannot grow Lupins to save my life, they are alright until I pop them in my garden then its goodbye, they just don't like my soil, now Delphs I started off a few years ago with a couple of plants and now have quite a lot, I find they are easy to grow, just collect some seedheads when the flowers go over and chuck in the garden somewhere.. The Love in a Mist is the same,its everywhere this year, lots in places where I don't want them but I'll let them have their way until I need the ground, Night Scented Stock are best planted enmasse, the perfume is divine, I do start mine in the g'house and then plant out in bunches but thats because I like them in the borders up near the patio and there isn't any space until the bulbs and primroses go over....
Allysum and Poppies are a good choice, I like things that reward you by selfseeding, both will do that, be careful if you get the Welsh Poppy as its one that spreads rapidly and once you have it its there for ever, lol....Calendula is another that will spread its seeds for you but its all colour and they will grow in the lousiest earth one can find..
You'll get hooked Vic and soon be wanting another g'house, lol....

Hi Lincs i think you have been reading my mind about a greenhouse lol, I know ill get hooked ill need to rein myself in, thanks for the advice very much appreciated

We bought our glass one off a neighbour who was moving to a smaller house about 25yrs ago, when it was my 60th and also my retirement hubby bought my second one, I think he got fedup of my moaning at this time of the year because I kept running out of space, I had already purchased two of the little plastic ones, guess he thought it would keep me occupied, lol.

I'm little restricted on space Lincs but I was looking at a small 6ft / 6ft maybe during the year at some point.

Best advice for buying a greenhouse is to get one a bit bigger than you think you want. With 6x6 it won't be long before you're wishing it was an 8x6.

I don't grow delphiniums as its too windy or lupins as my OH doesn't like them but foxgloves will grow here like weeds so I've no experience of growing any of them in pots sorry. I'd have thought the delphs would be too tall for pots unless they are the small ones. Why not try some in pots and some in the ground (with anti slug treatment) and see which do best? Gardens vary so much that what works in one may not be so good in another.

Hi Steragram if I had the space I'd get as large a greenhouse as I could find, but I'm quite restricted for space in this garden its a narrow 80ft long by 30ft enclosed by high hedging on both sides not the smallest but by no means large, I'm going to do as you suggest putting them in different areas of the garden. as my garden soil differs greatly I've noticed that some plants do better than plants of the same species while only being 3/4 ft away from each other, so ill treat it as a trial, which is the reason I decided to try seeds in the first place to keep the cost down so I can experiment with some of the plant I would really love to grow on a yearly basis.

With a long narrow garden like that had you thought of dividing it into two or three sections so you don't see it all at once, to give a feeling of exploring? A lot of folk would then put the greenhouse in the bottom section, though that does mean no electricity in it. It would be part of the garden though, and you'd be able to grow tomatoes if it was a bit bigger. Have you make a scale drawing - it might help you to see how much space you have.

Hi Steragram I did have it separated into three sections first section is two raised borders with pots and steps down into the lawn entering through an arch, second is the lawn and border that used to be separated until recently by two arched trellis fences which one was blown down last year, so I extended the border and kept just the one, beyond that there is a paved area with bench and hut I could always extend the border and place a greenhouse at the bottom of the garden with my taller plants in front of it! I don't think it would hide it or put it in shade to much but would help brake it up a little so its the first thing you see in the garden.