10 Plants And Flowers That Are Super Easy To Start From Seed

Tips for direct seeding

To plant directly in your garden, first make sure your soil is weed free and finely raked. After planting, give the seeds a gentle watering, being sure not to wash them away. After sowing, you may need to water every day or two, depending on the weather. If there isn't enough moisture when the seeds begin to germinate, they will die very quickly — so water gently and regularly.

Flower seeds to start now

Sunflower

There is a wide range of colour and form in sunflowers these days; from palest yellow to darkest red, branching or single stem, miniature to towering. Sunflowers prefer to be direct seeded and need full sun. Try varieties like strawberry blonde, Moulin Rouge, lemon queen and Russian mammoth.

Cosmos

Cosmos can be started indoors or out. The prefer a poor soil condition, so you can plant these without adding compost and fertilizer — they’ll thank you with more blooms! Pinch at about 30cm tall, taking off the top few sets of leaves and they will branch to create fuller plants.

Zinnias

Zinnias prefer a rich soil, so don’t skip the compost. They are not fans of cool weather, so plant them after the weather has warmed. Be sure to deadhead the plants (snip off any finished blooms) and they will keep on sending up new flowers.

Calendula

This is a sweet, daisy-shaped flower which also has the bonus of being edible. Sow the seeds outside in spring, as they don’t mind some cool weather. They will self seed easily for years to come.

Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums are an easy and beautiful plant to grow. They like to be direct seeded in the garden in poor soil, so you can skip the compost and fertilizer. They grow in two forms — a compact mound, or as a trailing vine which will sprawl out of window boxes, down retaining walls or across the ground. The pretty round leaves and the tropical-looking flowers are all edible.

Morning glory

Morning glories are climbing vines which can be trained on a fence, fishing line or string to grow up fire escapes, balconies or anywhere you want a little beauty. The seeds need to be soaked for 24 hours before sowing, and can be started indoors to get a jump on the season.

Marigold

Marigolds are a great plant for beginners. They are easy to start from seed, and although they need full sun, they will do well in a variety of soil conditions. Start indoors to get a head start on the season.

Arugula

Leafy greens are best grown from seed, and arugula is a delicious, hardy choice. Sow seeds directly in the garden in early spring. The plant will bolt in the hot weather, but the flowers it produces are also beautiful and edible.

Salad mix

Many seed mixes of salad greens are available (often called mesclun) and are easy to grow and harvest for an instant salad. With enough sun and water, they can be harvested after reaching 10-15 centimeters by trimming the whole plant down to about 2 centimeters from the base. It will grow two or three times more to provide salad over the next few weeks.

Snap pea

Snap peas are a great early crop to grow by direct seeding when the weather is still cool in early spring (but be sure the ground isn’t soggy). Soak the seeds in water overnight before planting. Provide a trellis or netting for them to climb on and keep them well watered. Enjoy picking eating peas right out of the garden!

Sarah Nixon is an urban flower farmer and floral designer in Toronto. Since 2002 her flower company, My Luscious Backyard, has sustainably grown over 50 varieties of cut flowers in micro-farms across many residential yards in Toronto’s downtown west side.