Some Annual Flowers You Can Still Sow In June

By the end of the summer, the flowers that you have already sown in your beds and borders will be beginning to fade. In order to prolong the display, there are still plenty of swift-to-bloom annuals that you can sow now in your containers, beds or borders in order to give you some lovely colour right through to early autumn.


Sunflower SeedlingThis last burst of summer colour will not only give you a delightful display, it will also be a boon to late pollinators, giving them a boost as they prepare for the colder months ahead. Gardeners who make sure that they have blooming plants throughout as much of the year as possible are those who will find that they have the best pollination rates. They will benefit from the biodiversity that the blooms bring in other ways too, such as through increased predation of pests and a healthy and resilient ecosystem.


SunflowerThere are plenty of flowers that will do well when direct sown in June. For example, sunflowers, which will shoot up swiftly in the summer sun and can give you a display in September and maybe even into early October if we have an Indian summer. Marigolds are another great choice, as these will happily bloom late in the season when planted in June. It is not too late to sow this beneficial companion plant in sunny spots throughout your garden. Nasturtiums will also be a beneficial flower to have around come harvest time and into autumn – remember that the leaves, flowers and seeds are all edible. Cosmos, another flower that can be sown this month, are also edible and can be used to garnish dishes.


ZinniasZinnias, calendula, borage, some violas, candytuft, clarkia, larkspur and limnanthes are other potential choices for late-summer colour and all of these can also be direct sown in June in your containers, beds and borders. Scattering nigella seeds in your borders is a great way to get some stunning blue flowers in the late summer.


If the long-range weather forecasters prove to be correct, we are going to have a drier than average summer. If that is the case then it will be more important than ever to make sure that seeds own directly and tender young seedlings do not dry out. Water regularly and well, especially in periods of drought.