Sowing annuals: child's play or brain teaser?

So, you want to transform your garden into a paradise for bees and butterflies? Smart plan! And the good news: annual flowers are your best allies. But then the question comes... Do you just sow them in the open ground, or is that mission impossible? Spoiler alert: it's easier than you think, if you know what you're doing. Here's how to go from sowing disappointments to a flower party.

Why not just try it?

Everyone says it: sow your one-year-old on the spot. It's on seed bags, in books, and on blogs. Yet hardly anyone really dares to do it. Why? Because sometimes things go wrong:

• “Almost nothing came up!”
• “The weeds took over!”
• “Only the same flowers came up...”

Recognizable? Don't worry, we have solutions for the most common difficulties. Read along and score that flower garden!

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‍Too dry? Help!

Spring + no rain = drama for your seeds. What now? Irrigate water! But... then you have to pack up the sprayer every day, otherwise your seedlings will dry out. As soon as the seed is' awake 'and starts to germinate, there is no going back and it must therefore have daily water to survive.

Clever trick: Give none water. Yes, you read that right. Let Mother Nature do the work. Seeds simply wait patiently for rain to germinate. Is it really bone dry for months? Then spray in the evening so that the water does not evaporate immediately. Extra tip: cover your seedbed with coarse sand to limit moisture loss. No fine white sand because it sticks together and forms a 'harder layer' that makes it harder for the seedlings to get through. An extra advantage: the sand reflects light between the grains of sand, so that the germs certainly have light to grow.

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‍You sowed among perennials... oops!

In the spring, these perennials still look so harmless. But before you know it, they're growing like crazy and putting the annual in the shade. Result? Bye bye floral carpet.

The solution: Sow your annual in pots or trays. Let them grow up outside and plant them out when they are big enough to compete with those big boys. Bonus: This way, you can even brighten up areas with partial shade with varieties such as nicotiana and salvia. Or if you really have a shady spot under the tree, you can mix us 'O1 forest zoom undergrowth' try.

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Flowers in the lawn? Difficult!

That dream of a wildflower meadow in your lawn? Honestly: sowing grass doesn't work for a second. At most 5% comes up, and then again.

The solution: Create grass-free zones in fun shapes: circles, winding paths, squares. Your flowers will sprout well there, and maybe nature will even sow further for you next year. Free flowers, who wouldn't want that?

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‍Widespread seeding = weed festival

Just throwing it around like a farmer seems easy, but unfortunately it's not just your flowers that come up — the weeds get an advantage.

The solution: Sow in neat rows (yes, also for flowers). Mix the seed with sand and sprinkle a thin layer of river sand on top. Why? This way, you can see exactly where the rows are, and you can remove the weeds in between. Extra fun tip: add radish seeds. Radishes sprout quickly, mark your rows and eventually end up on your plate. Win-win!

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‍Sowed too early

March sounds nice, but those cold mornings? Your seeds don't like that.

The solution: Wait until you want to work in the garden without a coat yourself. This is usually a good indication that it is warm enough to sow. Late sowers like zinnias and cleome do it even better if you wait until May or June.

Sowed too deeply

Many seeds don't like to dig deep. They just want to be pressed a little bit firmly.

The solution: Sprinkle your seeds on a finely crumbled bottom, press them down with a board or roller, and add a pinch of sand. This way, everything stays moist enough and germinates nice and fast.

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‍Why do poppies never come up?

You see them all over the road, but in your garden... nope. What is going wrong? Poppies love soil that has been mixed up quite a bit. (hence abundant flowering after road works, for example.)

The solution: After the winter, grab the rake, garden scraper or trident and whip up the top layer of your soil thoroughly. Hey, poppy party!

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Just do it! Leave that warm window sill behind and sow your annual outside.

It's easy, exciting, and addictive too.

Try a flower mixture — nice and simple and good for the bees.

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