episode 205| show notes & advice
episode description
There are few more therapeutic jobs in the potting shed or polytunnel than sowing seeds, and if you’re looking to fill your spring garden with colourful cut flowers, now is the time to start sowing your standout varieties.
In the first of two back-to-back episodes of ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange’, Sarah turns her attention to the cut flowers she’ll be sowing from early January onwards, working week by week to create an invaluable sowing calendar you can easily follow at home.
In this episode, discover
- Sarah's love of seed sowing, and the meditative quality it brings
- Top performing seeds for the start of the year, from fragrant sweet peas to easy growers like cerinthe
- A unique tip to prevent mice from spoiling your sweet pea seeds
links and references
Order Sarah’s new book - A Year Full of Pots
Order Sarah’s book - A Year Full of Flowers
Order Sarah’s book - A Year Full of Veg
Sarah Raven's Garden Cookbook | Sarah Raven
Shop on the Sarah Raven Website
Get in touch: info@sarahraven.com
Episode 205 advice sheet
January (4:00)
The seeds you should think about sowing in January are dominated by scent, whether it’s the blue-mauve combination of sweet pea of ‘Erewhon’, or the more magenta majesty of ‘Matucana’. Other standouts for this month include well-behaved honeywort (cerinthe), and longstanding favourite on the show cobaea scandens - named the cup-and-saucer plant for its distinctive shape.
February (9:15)
Picks for February’s sowing start with the bold hues of snapdragons like ‘Liberty Crimson’, which are not only stunning, but also last well over a week in a vase. For fans of the snapdragon shape in a more petite size, Linaria ‘Sweeties’ has to be front of mind, with the same gorgeous silhouette and a superb scent.
March (12:25)
Rolling into March, we have an absolute winner for the garden for pollinators, for birds and for sharing with guests - Salvia viridis ‘Blue’ brings both flower and foliage, putting on a wonderful show when planted in a border.
Another absolute winner is Scabiosa atropurpurea ‘Black Cat’, whose dark and velvety crimson flowers are such a great way to punctuate any arrangement. They’re eye-catching, long-flowering, and remarkably pollinator-friendly.
