Annual Semi-Tall Flowers Mix.

You can buy cut flowers everywhere these days. Tired bunches, flown from faraway countries adorn petrol station forecourts and supermarkets who sell the same flowers all year round.
But if you want fresh, seasonal flowers, you can't beat the thrill of growing your own. You won’t be limited to the same dull selection in the shops and your flowers will be fresh and last longer.
Imagine being able to pop into the garden and cut flowers whenever you want, and when you visit friends, you can take them a bouquet that you've grown yourself.

The ‘Semi-Tall Flowers Mix’ is composed of a finely balanced selection of annual flowers designed to provide a long succession of flowers from June to September
Flowering in around 10 to 12 weeks from sowing, these fast-growing plants provide an easy and cost-effective way to give naturalistic planting, plug gaps and fill the border with a summer full of colour. Suitable for use in all areas of the garden, from planters and front gardens to field scale planting offering instant impact and a definite wow factor.
Growing to a height of around 50cm (20in), this rich flowering mixture produces large quantities of flowers that are ideal for cutting. It must surely be the quickest and easiest way to create bright, colourful beds and borders in the garden and in the vase.

Major components include:
Agrostemma, Ammi, Calendula, Callistephus, Carthamus, Centaurea, Clarkia, Coreopsis. Dahlia, Gypsophila, Iberis, Lavatera, Linum rubrum, Polypogon, Saponaria, Silene and Zinnia

Incredibly easy to grow, the seeds can be sown straight into the soil so indoor growing space and propagation equipment aren’t needed and you won’t have to spend time on jobs such as transplanting and hardening off.
As well as being ornamental, some species will provide nectar and pollen for bees, butterflies and other insects from early in the year to late in the season. In addition, those with attractive seedheads can provide a valuable food source for birds. You can even plant cut flowers in your veg garden to add some colour and the blooms will attract beneficial insects such as bees.
Growing your own cut flowers is good for the environment, good for your garden, great fun and it can save you money.

Coverage:
Seeds should be sown at around 2.5 grams per square metre, (10 grams to cover 4 square metres), but can be sown at a higher or lower density, dependent on the results desired.
Do not sow too thickly, while it is good for plants to offer each other a little support you don't want them to out compete one another.

Timing: Sow in Spring or in Autumn.
Sowing can begin from late March to early June as the soil begins to warm up (often indicated by the emergence of weed seedlings). It may begin earlier in milder gardens of the south and west; in colder northern gardens sowing may be later.
Seeds can also be sown in the autumn so they flower earlier the following year. A spring sowing differs from an autumn sowing in that it tends to produce a later flowering display. It should be noted that although these plants usually withstand frosty conditions without protection, some hardy annuals would benefit with a covering with horticultural fleece or a cloche when a heavy prolonged frost is forecast.

Sowing:
Weed the bed, level the soil with a rake and tread lightly before sowing. Mixing the seeds with dry sand will ensure a more even distribution of seeds. You can easily see where seeds have fallen and any bare patches can be covered.
Sowing the seeds can be done either by broadcast sowing or by sowing in drills. Broadcasting sowing is quick and easy, the seeds are simply scattered evenly over the surface of the soil. The main disadvantage of broadcasting is that you cannot easily tell weed seedlings apart from your sowings.
Alternatively, the seeds can be sown in drills (shallow grooves) 30cm (12in) apart, to produce drifts of flower for a natural appearance. Although this takes a little more time it is time well spent as the flowers appear in rows and can be told from any weed seedlings easily.

Cultivation:
Water seeds / plants if conditions are dry. The plants may benefit from support in exposed gardens.
At the end of the flowering season you can either leave the seed heads for the birds to eat or cut the flowers down. Annual mixes are designed to last for only one year but if the area sown is left uncut you may get some flowers next season from self-sown seed.
At the end of the flowering season the dead stalks can be cut down and any weeds removed. The area can then be re-cultivated in time for the following season.

Garden uses:
Beds and borders, Cottage/Informal, Cut Flower Arranging, Low Maintenance, Wildlife Gardens.

Cutting the Flowers:
Flowers you grow yourself will last longer than those you buy but it still pays to do everything you can to keep them fresh.
Pick flowers using sharp scissors just before they are fully open so they last longer in the vase. It always looks best if a few flowers are in bud and a few are more fully open. Cut them in cool weather, preferably in the morning, or in the evening. Take a bucket of water with you and plunge the stems in it straight after they have been cut to prevent air getting into them.
If you are arranging your flowers in anything other than in a vase of water, perhaps in an Oasis block, it pays to condition them to help them last even longer. To do this, place the flowers in deep water in a bucket overnight.

Keeping Cut Flowers Fresh:
The key to keeping cut flowers looking at their best is to provide them with food and water, protect them from decay or infection, and keep them cool and out of direct sunlight.
Trim the bottom ends of your flowers with a clean, sharp blade. Discard any decaying leaves or flowers and trim away any foliage which would be below the water line. Wet, wilted or rotting plant material encourages microbial growth that can rot your flowers.
Cut the stems at an angle to increase the surface area for water and to prevent the ends from resting flat on the bottom of the container, before arranging them in the vase containing floral preservative, making sure your vase is clean.
If you can, keep your flowers in a cool location and out of sun. Minimise air circulation, since it speeds evaporation and can dehydrate your flowers. Don't set your flowers near ripe fruit, because the chemicals from the fruit (such as ethylene) will 'ripen' your flowers.

Floral preservative provides flowers with water and food and contains a disinfectant to prevent bacteria from growing. You can make cut flower preservative yourself, there are several good recipes simply made using common household ingredients.

Cut Flower Preservative Recipe #1

• 2 cups lemon-lime carbonated beverage (e.g., Sprite™ or 7-Up™)
• ½ teaspoon household chlorine bleach
• 2 cups warm water

Cut Flower Preservative Recipe #2

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon household chlorine bleach
• 1 litre (a quart) warm water

Cut Flower Preservative Recipe #3

• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon household chlorine bleach
• 1 litre (a quart) warm water

In all cases, mix the floral preservative using warm water 38 to 40°C (100 to 110°F) because it will move into the stems more effectively than cold water. Clean tap water will work, but if it is very high in salts or fluorides, consider using distilled water instead. Chlorine in tap water is fine, since it acts as a natural disinfectant.