What flowers to sow in January

January is one of my favourite months, it is a brilliant month to get planning and plotting. Even though there aren't a huge amount of flowers to sow right now, the planning you do now will pay off in the busy months when there is lots to sow.

So if you haven't already, draw out a plan of your garden and work out what you're going to sow where.

In the meantime there are a few flowers you can get started under glass (indoors on a windowsill, or in an heated greenhouse/cold frame)

Firstly, Sweet Peas- they're the absolute hero of the summer flowers. They have countless blooms and really are easy to grow from seed. You can autumn sown Sweet Peas and keep them under glass over Winter, or sow them in January- Spring too. I always sow my Sweet Peas on my birthday in January an have countless blooms.

Try and choose tall pots to plant the seeds into as the roots on Sweet Peas grow really long and deep. Some people start off their Sweet Peas in loo rolls and then plant these straight into the ground, or you can use gardening pots.

Here is a video of me sowing Sweet Peas this Autumn: (but remember you can sow anytime from October to March/April)

Sowing the Sweet Peas earlier in the year gives them a head start. Plus they need a period of cool to establish and then when the heat comes in Spring they will then use their energy to clamber up your structures and poles and then they flower in their masses.

Snapdragon

Snapdragons have gorgeous tall spikes of beautiful flowers, but are slow to grow, so you need to give them plenty of time to germinate and grow large enough before you plant out into their location in Spring. But well worth the wait0 these are absolute showstoppers in vases and bouquets.

(Video coming soon!)

Dianthus

You could just about get away with sowing Dianthus at the end of January. Also known as 'Sweet William', they flower May- October. You can sow them later in the next few months and that would be my advice for healthier and stronger plants.

(Video coming soon!)