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what can I direct sow now for flowering border?

16 years ago

I am developing a large circular flower bed and want to put a low border around the edges. I can't afford that many perennials this year so I want to use annuals. What can I direct sow now? I'd also like the flowers to be deer resistant, if such a thing exists. It can be a mixture of flowers, or just one or two.

Thanks for any suggestions. I can post a photo if that would be helpful, but there's not much there yet, and what there was has been chomped by the deer because I was lazy with the repellent.

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Comments (7)

omniphasic
16 years ago
Try sunflowers and nasturtiums...Cosmos is a good producer,and try Cleome in the back of the area....watch out for the spines on it!
lindac
15 years ago
Deer will eat anything in their path.....
Also sweet alyssum, portulaca, marigolds, zinnia, larkspur viola....just to name a few suitable for sowing.
Linda C
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Try going to the forum for your region. I do believe there is a Great Lakes or Northern such region forum? There, you can get the locals to advise you who are doing the same thing. Make a post something like "looking for garden buddies near [city], MI for advice re seed starting" and they should be able to give you a Spring timetable. From my experience living in zone 6 MA, my last frost was around May 15th. Are you sowing outdoors in situ and/or indoors in a flat? Need to know more. Maybe you are doing both. Email me for my old schedule, as I am now in NC z7, but can still help. It is still too early to do much in z6 indoors without a greenhouse and heated mats, and almost nothing outdoors except for Nigella; cool season annuals which will germinate when ready. Sure, go ahead and sow your Cosmos. They will know when to germinate. Mine in zone 6 MA germinated in April sometime. Hope that helps.
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Llailliall, your paper towel trick was perfection, thank you! I'd say half the seeds have germinated and the other half in the next day or two. This is record speed on Columbine according to the directions I've seen elsewhere. I had never done this method before, well since 4th grade beans seeds, LOL! I thought it seemed sort of weird, but I figured you wouldn't have answered if you didn't think it would work. Soooo, now I have minuscule seeds with minuscule radicals. I guess I take a scissors and cut a tiny piece of paper towel with each seed and then put it each a little six pack /cell pack. (This as opposed to a set of tweezers.) If you know of a less tedious method, please let me know!
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pieheart
Original Author
15 years ago
Linda C: will these flower if I sow now? I was afraid I was too late.

omniphasic: Thanks for the suggestions of cosmos and cleome, I love both of these. I also love larkspur and alyssum. Again, if I sow them now, will they flower? I'm in northern NJ.

I well know that deer will eat anything in their path, and what the deer leave the groundhog eats. Gardening can be depressing sometimes.
mmqchdygg
15 years ago
pie-
You might consider winter-sowing them (forum here at GW), which will give you a warmer environment for them to germinate, possibly hastening the process for you if your soil isn't warm enough yet.
You can transplant them when they are just big enough with true-leaves, and away you go!

Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Sowing Forum
pieheart
Original Author
15 years ago
mmqchdygg, I'm going to check out winter sowing now. I didn't think about that because it's no longer winter. But I can see how it would accelerate the development of the flowers. Thanks for the idea!
lindac
15 years ago
Yes pie, they will flower this year....all but for Viola. That isa biennial and most likely won't flower before frost.
Years ago my mother grew all her flowers but for petunias by direct sowing in the first week of may. She planted marigolda, zinnias, snapdragons and sweet alyssum. In alother bed there was portulaca, and larkspur blooms about 2 months from sowing.
Get those seeds in the ground.
Linda C
pieheart
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the encouragement, LindaC! I am going seed shopping today and will amend the soil this weekend. It's mostly clay and shale, need to get in some organic material if I want these seeds to put out strong roots!

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