Gardening can be fun. It is economical to raise your own plants from home-sown seed and it is not too late to sow seeds. Now is the correct time to sow many varieties.

This time of year is perfect for gardening. I begin before breakfast – watering seedlings and pot plants; pulling off the deadheads from stray dandelions to prevent them from self-sowing; and removing the last of the faded narcissus flowers, to help build up the bulbs for next year.

Decorative, delightful and edible

I have just checked seedlings of Unwins ‘Floral Feast’. The seeds germinated within a fortnight. Sown outdoors from March to May, they should provide flowers from June to October. The packet contains a fascinating mixture of the little heartsease viola, nasturtium, calendula, carnation, Asperula odorata and annual sunflowers.

The seeds are easy to grow - a strange mixture but a fun one.

Helpful tip

Bright pansies in pots were very tempting this spring. Pansies can be sown directly into the garden outside, from May to June, for flowers the following spring. The variety ‘Happy Memories’ from Suttons will cheer you. Or perhaps you would prefer Thompson & Morgan’s ‘Flamenco’ (new for 2003), the first semi-double, fringed pansy from seed. This F1 hybrid is suitable for summer and winter flowering. Flower colours are dark purple, burgundy, peach, white or yellow.

New introductions

Among other flower introductions for 2003, I ticked the following names on my field notes, after observing how well the plants had performed at T & M’s trial grounds last autumn:

Agastache cana ‘Purple Pygmy’, Aquilegia ‘Sweet Rainbows’, Aster chinensis ‘Moonshine Mixed’, Campanula incurva ‘Blue Ice’, Crepis rubra, Eschscholzia californica ‘Thai Silk Fire Bush’, Helianthus annuus ‘The Bees Knees’, Ipomoea tricolor ‘Flying Saucers’. These plants are all worth checking in the catalogue, available free from T & M.

Flower seeds to sow in May

Thompson & Morgan’s hardy annual larkspur ‘The Seven Dwarfs’ may be sown April to May. And hardy annual nasturtiums can be sown this month. Unwins are offering trial size packets of their new ‘Campari ‘n’ Soda’ for 50P – bright red flowers above marbled foliage will please gardeners who like plants with variegated leaves.

Chance to win a free model van!

Unwins are celebrating their centenary in 2003. As part of the celebrations, one thousand of their new variety packets contain a voucher, which can be exchanged for a replica model of the Ford van that the firm used in the 1920s to deliver their sweet peas. To claim the model, the voucher should be returned to the company.

On veg and salad

Although it has been dry in many areas, it should still be possible to keep up a steady supply of vegetables and salads, from large or small gardens. Regular watering during an unusually hot season is absolutely essential.

Runner beans and French beans can be sown straight into the ground in Mid-May. The mauve-purple pods of French bean ‘Purple Queen’ are sufficiently decorative to display in flowerbeds. Compost or manure dug into the soil prior to sowing generally improves the crop. In late May, sweet corn and marrow can be sown directly into the soil where they are to be harvested. Leave a large circle of space for development of the marrow fruits.

Turnip and parsnip seeds can go into the ground now. ‘Galaxy’ is a variety of spinach to sow from March to September. And repeat sowings of lettuce until August should produce salad leaves throughout summer.

Glass or polythene cover for protection is really worth considering for the early and late months. It is possible to sow early and get ahead with tomatoes and cucumbers, if frost-proof shelter can be provided. Where comparatively few plants are grown, many people achieve good results by transporting early sown seedlings in and out from the kitchen windowsill - morning and night. Nevertheless a greenhouse saves a lot of time and energy.

Among my field notes

*Daucus carota ‘Resistafly’ - a carrot variety that won ‘vegetable-of-the-year’

* Hyssop tricolour – attractive herb in the flower bed

*‘Gardenperle’ – decorative cherry-sized tomatoes

* ‘Kabuki’ – 9-inch calabrese plants suitable for close spacing –sow February to June

Anyone can be an expert

When quality tested seeds fail to germinate, it is rarely the seedsmen’s fault. Seed firms go to a lot of trouble and expense to provide instructions on how to obtain satisfactory results. Notes on seed sowing techniques are usually to be found on the back of seed packets, or in a free leaflet. By following the instructions carefully, anyone can be successful.