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Spring Cabbage
Direct sow spring cabbages into the vegetable patch this month, and you'll be rewarded with a reliable crop of fresh, tender greens at a time when the garden has little else to offer next spring. Either harvest whole or remove leaves as you need them for a tasty spring treat. Keep the soil moist a provide a delicate feed in autumn. The modest effort you put in now will be repaid many times over with crisp, home-grown leaves ready to harvest as the garden stirs back to life after winter.
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Radishes
One of the quickest and most rewarding crops to sow in August, radishes are often ready to harvest in as little as four weeks. The warm soil encourages rapid germination, while the cooler days ahead help produce crisp, mild roots with less risk of becoming woody or overly peppery. Sow little and often, tucked between slower growing crops or grown in containers, a late summer sowing will provide a welcome supply of fresh, crunchy radishes to brighten salads and sandwiches well into the autumn.
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Hardy Salads
Ensure a steady supply of fresh leaves well into autumn and, with a little protection, even through the winter months. Hardy lettuces germinate readily in the warm soil and quickly produce tender, flavourful leaves to add to salads and garnishing your favourite meals. Sow a few rows little and often in a sunny, well prepared spot now and you will be rewarded with crisp, home grown salads long after the summer harvests have faded.
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Cornflower
Sow hardy annual cornflowers and allow young plants to establish before winter, rewarding you with an earlier display of blooms the following summer. Scatter seed into a sunny, well-drained position where seedlings will quietly overwinter, ready to burst into growth as spring arrives. With their vivid blue flowers, graceful stems and value to bees and other pollinators, cornflowers are a timeless addition to any garden, bringing colour and a touch of cottage garden charm to your garden. Mix with perennials and shrubs for a fantastic summer display.
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Pansies & Violas
Pansies and violas will provide a glorious display that will brighten the garden from the first cool days of autumn and continue well into spring. Sown now, the young plants have time to establish before winter, producing an abundance of cheerful blooms when colour is most welcome. Planted in the smallest of spaces, their charming flowers and rich palette of jewel-like shades bring warmth and character to the garden through the colder months. Easy to grow and wonderfully reliable, pansies and violas are among the most rewarding flowers to raise from seed, offering months of beauty.
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Calendula
Sow these cheerful, sun loving flowers now and they will reward you with an abundance of golden blooms when summer arrives. With their warm shades, calendulas bring a touch of sunshine to the garden and are a delightful addition to borders, cottage gardens and cutting patches. Easy to grow and wonderfully generous, they will thrive in a sunny spot with little fuss, providing a valuable source of nectar for bees and other pollinators. Sow a few seeds now, and you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful display of vibrant flowers to welcome the new growing season.
