Ever wanted to learn how to grow your own annual garden flowers and bedding plants from seed? This easy how-to shows simple steps to successfully growing your own garden flowers. It’s easy and saves money. This how-to shows how to grow your own flower seeds from start to finish.
Author: JESSIE KEITH
Plants are the lens Jessie views the world through because they’re all-sustaining. (“They feed, clothe, house and heal us. They produce the air we breathe and even make us smell pretty.”) She’s a garden writer and photographer with degrees in both horticulture and plant biology from Purdue and Michigan State Universities. Her degrees were bolstered by internships at Longwood Gardens and the American Horticultural Society. She has since worked for many horticultural institutions and companies and now manages communications for Sun Gro Horticulture, the parent company of Black Gold. Her joy is sharing all things green and lovely with her two daughters.
The French Herb Garden
Some classic French herbs are common to American tables and gardens, while others are less often used and grown. The key elements of the French herb garden let growers mix their own traditional herbal mixes, such as Bouquet Garni, Fines Herbes, and Herbes de Provence. These costly herbal blends are easy to make, and the herbs themselves are effortless and inexpensive to grow.
French cooking is regional, as are the herbs that flavor foods across the country. Southern French cooking is Mediterranean, with bay, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and saffron playing a greater role in food flavors. North, central, and alpine regions rely on more northerly herbs common across central Europe, such as the lightly anise-flavored chervil, lemony sorrel, peppery winter savory, and sage.
Most French herbs are perennials that return yearly and are easy to grow–with several being tender, surviving up to USDA Hardiness Zones 7-10 or 8-10. Others are annuals that can be sown each year.
Hardy Perennial French Herbs
Chives
The light oniony flavor of chives (Allium schoenoprasum, USDA Hardiness Zones 4-8) is a favorite in French spring dishes. Edible clusters of mauve flowers appear in mid-spring, rising above the upright foliage. Chives love the sun and rich garden soil amended with compost, such as OMRI Listed® Black Gold Garden Compost Blend. Harvest them fresh, when they are most flavorful, and add them to omelets or vegetables.
French Thyme
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris, Zones 5-9) is a common herb across Europe, but French thyme is distinct in that its leaves are narrower, grey-green, and more pungent. The low, spreading, shrubby herb is evergreen and requires well-drained soil and a sunny spot. Harvest the leafy stems any time of year or dry the leaves for herbal mixes.
Oregano
Though commonly associated with Italian and Greek cooking, oregano (Origanum vulgare, Zones 4-10) is also essential to French cuisine. It thrives in the sun and has rooting stems that spread, so be sure to give it space to grow. You can also contain it in a pot. Dry the leaves in fall for winter cooking.
Tarragon
The sweet anise-scented leaves of tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus, Zones 4-8) taste of French cooking. The sun-loving perennial returns year after year with leaves that can be harvested through the growing season. Use them to season meats and vegetables.
Sage
The leathery, gray, evergreen leaves of sage (Salvia officinalis, Zones 4-8) are pungent and favored for winter cooking. This hardy shrubby perennial bears pretty lavender-blue flowers in summer, which are also edible and attract bees. Give it plenty of sun and average soil with good drainage.
Sorrel
Lemony sorrel (Rumex acetosa, Zones 3-7) leaves are collected in spring as they first emerge and added to fresh salads or soups. The perennial becomes ungainly later in the season when it sends up weedy looking flowers, which are a bit of an eyesore. Cut them back to keep this sun-lover looking attractive through summer.
Saffron
The delicate flowers of saffron (Crocus sativus, Zones 6-10) appear in fall and are surprisingly easy to grow. To collect the fine, orange-red saffron threads from the crocus flowers, gently snip them from the blooms and allow them to dry. Be sure to plant at least 50 to collect enough saffron for home use. Mingle the crocus among your other herbs for a pretty autumn show. [To learn more about growing saffron, click here.]
Winter Savory
The low, semi-evergreen winter savory (Satureja montana, Zones 6-8) forms an aromatic mat of foliage that looks great through much of the season. The peppery leaves add flavor to green beans, soups, and stews. In summer, clusters of white or pinkish flowers attract bees. It enjoys full sun, fertile soil, and is best planted along the edge of an herbal border.
Tender Perennial French Herbs
Bay Laurel
Technically an evergreen tree growing to 20-30 feet, bay laurel (Laurus nobilis, Zones 8-10) has herbal leaves used to flavor soups, sauces, and meats. In the herb garden, it can be grown in a large pot and brought indoors in winter, if you live in a cold-zone region. Give this Mediterranean tree full sun and average soil that drains well. Pot-grown specimens thrive in OMRI Listed® Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Mix.
Sweet Marjoram
A relative of oregano, sweet marjoram (Origanum majorana, Zones 8-10) has lemony leaves with a hint of pine. It is an essential ingredient in Bouquet Garni, an herbal mix used to flavor soups. Its pale green leaves appear in summer on the bushy plants. White clusters of summer flowers attract bees and butterflies. Provide it with full sun and soil with good drainage.
French Lavender
Of all the French lavenders to try, ‘Provence’ (Lavandula x intermedia ‘Provence’, Zones 6-9) is one of the most fragrant and beautiful varieties. It is a vigorous hybrid between English lavender (L. angustifolia, Zones 5-8) and Portuguese lavender (L. latifolia, Zones 7-9). The dried leaves and wands of purple flowers are a common ingredient in Herbes de Provence. [To learn more about growing lavender, click here.]
Rosemary
In the South of France, rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis, Zones 8-10) is planted in aromatic hedges. This sun and drought-loving evergreen has needle-like leaves that are resinous and piney. Dry them for winter use or harvest fresh stems year-round.
Annual French Herbs
Chervil
Though the leaves of chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium) look a lot like parsley, they have a distinctive light licorice flavor. The herb is an ingredient in Fines Herbes and also enjoyed in salads or used to flavor vegetables. Plant this cool-season annual yearly in the spring or fall when it grows best. It likes full sun and fertile soil.
Parsley
The fresh leaves of parsley (Petroselinum crispum) are harvested from biennial plants that are typically grown as annuals. Plant them in full sun in spring, and harvest the fresh leaves all season. On occasion, they will overwinter and put forth stems of airy flowers the following spring.
French Herb Mixes
Herbes de Provence: This variable herbal mix from the Provence region of southern France typically contains marjoram, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and lavender, though some recipes may also contain dried sage, basil, fennel, mint, hyssop, or bay leaf. Use it to flavor meats and vegetables. Here’s one of many variations to the recipe:
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
2 tablespoon dried winter savory
2 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon crushed, dried sage
2 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried tarragon
2 tablespoon crushed, dried rosemary
1 tablespoon crushed, dried lavender buds
Fines Herbes: This fragrant, herbal mix is best eaten fresh and contains equal parts of tarragon, chives, chervil, and parsley. It can be used to flavor butter for vegetables or added to omelets.
Bouquet Garni: Used to flavor sauces, soups, and stews, this fresh herbal mix most often includes equal parts sage, parsley, and thyme as well as a bay leaf and peppercorns. The mix is typically wrapped in cheesecloth and steeped in broth to add flavor.
DIY Garden Project: Eight Tough Houseplants
These eight tough houseplants are hard to kill, making them perfect for black thumb gardeners. They are also great for new indoor gardeners with little growing experience.
8 Tough Houseplants for Black Thumb Gardeners
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DIY Garden Project: Organic Rose Growing in Nine Steps
Learn how to grow beautiful roses with these nine simple steps. It’s easy to grow amazing roses organically. Here are nine steps for growing roses the organic way without the need of non-organic pesticides and fungicides.
Organic Rose Growing in Nine Steps
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DIY Garden Project: Top Six Mosquito Repellent Plants
Check out our top six mosquito repellent plants in this Black Gold video! These patio plants are great for repelling mosquitoes. Each has a lemony fragrance that keeps mosquitoes at bay, and many are culinary herbs or beautiful garden flowers.
Plant up these Top Six Mosquito Repellent Plants
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2018 Fred Meyer Fuchsia Saturday with Black Gold
Each year Black Gold is proud to be a part of Fred Meyer’s Fuchsia Saturday planting event! Now in its 28th year, Fuchsia Saturday will be held at Oregon, Washington, and Idaho Fred Meyer stores on April 7th, 2018 from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm, rain or shine.
Purchase pots (or bring some from home) and plants (Fuchsias and more!), and our garden center staff will help you create custom planters using FREE premium Black Gold All Purpose Potting Soil. Plus, get four fuchsia or seed geranium starts in 3″ pots for just $3. It’s a great way to get a jump start on your spring planting!!!
How to Grow Ramps and Ramsons
Ramps (Allium tricoccum), also called spring onions, are native woodland onions that have gained popularity among chefs and gardeners. The closely related ramsons (Allium ursinum) grow similarly, but they are Eurasian and have different floral characteristics. Both wild onions are grown for their greens and bulbs that taste of garlic and onion, and each makes a fitting addition to spring woodland or edible gardens.
Ramps
Ramps are true forest spring ephemerals—meaning they appear in early spring, before the forest trees leaf out, and disappear by summer by the time the trees provide full shade. They are native to northeastern North America, from Georgia to the far reaches of Quebec, so they are remarkably hardy and well-adapted to eastern and northern landscapes and gardens.
Ramps have a long history of culinary use. Native American tribespeople of the northeast harvested them for traditional dishes, and early colonists also learned to eat the wild roots in place of cultivated onions. These days ramps have gained new popularity in culinary circles, a trend spurred on by contemporary wild food enthusiasts.
The broad, aromatic leaves of ramps first appear in early spring. Once they have reached their full height of 6 to 10 inches, they can be harvested. The leek-like onions have white bulbs with purple sheaths. By May or June, the leaves begin to die back, at which point delicate greenish-brown flower stalks appear. These give rise to clusters of ivory flowers, followed by papery heads filled with black seeds. Ramps naturalize by seed and bulb, so be sure to leave some to spread for next year’s harvest.
Ramsons
The closely related ramsons (also called wild bear leek) are similar to ramps, but they originate from northern Eurasia. They have been eaten by peoples of the region since Mesolithic times, and they are an important food for wild animals, such as boar and bear.
Unlike ramps, the showy clusters of white flowers bloom when the plants are in full foliage, making ramsons even better candidates for ornamental woodland gardens. The plants are more variable in height, reaching between 4 to 18 inches, and their large clusters of white, starry flowers are very showy. Foliage first appears in early- to mid-spring and flowers reach full bloom by late spring.
Ramsons are very popular in Europe, but more of a rarity in the US. This is a shame because they are so attractive and delicious. All parts may be eaten, from the flowers to the bulbs. The plants naturally spread by seed, so be sure to leave seed heads, if you want seedlings.
Growing Ramps and Ramsons
Imagine the leafy floor of an eastern hardwood forest; this is the best growing environment for ramps. They like soil that’s moist and rich in organic matter and will naturally proliferate beneath deciduous trees. This does not mean they are shade-loving. The plants leaf out and gather sunlight before the trees have fully leafed out, so they are truly sun-loving. This means they can be planted in any sunny garden setting with fertile soil.
If you don’t have a wooded landscape, choose any raised garden with quality soil. Studies have shown that ramps grow best in acid soils with an average pH of 5.5, so be sure to amend alkaline soils with an acidifying soil conditioner. Amending soils with OMRI Listed Black Gold Peat Moss will help acidify soils while adding needed organic matter. Ramps have also been shown to prefer soils rich in calcium and magnesium, so also consider adding a fertilizer high in these nutrients.
If started from seed, ramps and ramsons will take two to three years before they reach harvestable size. Moreover, the seeds can be difficult to start, so it’s better to plant bulbs. Specialty nurseries, like The Ramp Farm, sell bulbs in bulk. (Ramson bulbs are more difficult to buy in the US, but American Meadows does sell seed.) Bulbs planted in fall should be ready to harvest within a year.
Unless you own your own wooded property with native ramps, refrain from collecting them in the wild. Ramp fervor puts wild populations under threat, and they are so easy to grow, there’s no need to take them from nature.
Enjoying Ramps and Ramsons
Ramps taste great in any recipe that highlights leeks or onions. One note about eating ramps: Like other onions, they contain sulfides, which can cause stomach trouble if consumed in large quantities. So, specialists recommend ramps be eaten in low to moderate quantities. According to Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food by Jeff Potter, cutting and soaking onions, such as ramps, can reduce the number of water-soluble sulfides in the vegetables.
Ramps are prolific across the Appalachians, so the region is home to many ramps festivals. One of the most popular is the North Carolina Ramp Festival, first started in the early 1930s and celebrated each May in Waynesville, NC. The event includes lots of ramp delicacies along with live music and dancing.
Ramps are popular, yet underplanted, so be the first in your garden circle to grow them. You can surprise your friends with fresh cream or ramp soup, or show off the pretty plants in your woodland or herb garden.
Best Sauce Tomatoes for Home Gardeners
All winter long, my family relies on my fresh canned marinara from the garden. Garden-fresh sauce spiked with homegrown basil, oregano, garlic, and peppers tastes nothing like canned commercial sauces. The best sauce starts with great tomatoes. Sauce and paste tomatoes are unique in that they are fleshier, denser, and less watery and seedy. Tomatoes with less water don’t need to be cooked down as long, which means fresher tasting sauce.
Over the years, I have tried loads of sauce and paste tomatoes, and picked favorites along the way. Those that I like have deep color, full flavor, and are very productive. Disease resistance and vigor are also important traits. Here are some of the best I have found, along with a few promising new varieties.
Best Sauce Tomatoes
Italian Classics
‘San Marzano’ (80 days) is the most famous Italian paste tomato. Its dense, elongated red fruits are beautifully flavored with balanced acid and sugar (Brix 4.7 to 5.4), but I tend not to grow them in their pure form. This is because they are determinate bush tomatoes that produce fruit over a shorter window than vining tomatoes. Instead, I favor ‘San Marzano Redorta’ (80 days); its indeterminate vines produce larger red fruits for a longer time. They have a similar flavor to the classic ‘San Marzano’, but the plants are more productive. The ‘San Marzano 2’ variant is also a choice variety that’s more disease resistant than 
the original, exhibiting resistance to both fusarium and verticillium wilt. My favorite source for these varieties is the Italian seed vendor, Franchi Sementi, which was founded in 1783. You can also find organic seeds for classic ‘San Marzano’ and ‘Roma VF’ at High Mowing Organic Seeds.
Another ‘San Marzano’ type to try is ‘Pozzano’ (72 days). Its fruits are like those of classic ‘San Marzano’, but they are produced in quantity on large indeterminate vines that are exceptionally resistant to fusarium wilt races 1, 2, tomato mosaic virus, and verticillium wilt. This variety also grows very well in greenhouses.
A nice heirloom with traditional flavor is ‘Roma’ (75 days). Its sweet fruits are deep red, very flavorful, and borne on short, determinate vines that are disease resistant. Plants are high yielding.
Though they look like salad tomatoes, deep red ‘Principe Borghese‘ are the preferred fruits for drying and roasting. They have a delicious flavor and make great roasted tomato sauce or sun-dried tomato pesto.
American Paste Tomatoes
Of the American heirloom varieties, ‘Amish Paste’ (85-days) is one of the best. First obtained from an Amish community near Medford, Wisconsin in the 1870s, the plants produce large, meaty, plum tomatoes on indeterminate vines. Another American classic is ‘Jersey Giant’ (75-80 days), which has indeterminate vines that produce huge orange-red plum tomatoes reaching 6-inches in length. The flavorful fruits are full-flavored and crack resistant.
Unusual Paste Tomatoes
The red and golden-orange striped ‘Speckled Roman’ (85 days) paste tomato is pretty and unusual. Its tall vines produce lots of delicious, fleshy fruits that taste great in sauce or eaten fresh.
Not all sauce tomatoes are red. A new variety that I hope to grow this year is the tangerine orange ‘Sunrise Sauce‘ (57 days) tomato. In addition to the novel color, the sweet fruits are produced very early. Remarkable resistance to fusarium wilt race 1 and verticillium wilt also makes this a choice tomato for the garden.
Planting Paste Tomatoes
Full sun is required for the best tomato growth and fruit output. [Click here to learn more about growing tomatoes from seed to harvest.] One thing to keep in mind when planting and growing paste tomatoes is that flavor is intensified by less water and well-drained soil. Planting tomatoes in raised or bermed beds amended with Black Gold Garden Compost Blend or Black Gold Garden Soil will help with soil drainage, and feeding them with a specialized tomato fertilizer will increase fruit production. [Click here to learn how to berm beds.] Reduce watering as fruits develop to increase fruit flavor.
Tomatoes also require warm summer days and nights for fruit sugars to develop to their fullest. Cool temperatures disrupt sugar development in tomato fruits and increase toughness. So, tomatoes grown in areas with consistently cool summer nights tend to have less taste.
How to Prune Tomatoes
Whether you choose determinate (bush) or indeterminate (vining) vines, all tomatoes are easier to prune and harvest if supported by sturdy cages or stakes. Training vines also makes harvesting easier.
Late winter is the best time to plant tomatoes indoors from seed. Start them six weeks before your last frost date (Frost Date Chart here). After frosts have passed and the soil warms, your newly planted tomatoes will start growing rapidly. By midsummer, they should begin producing loads of fruits for sauce and fresh eating. Just six to eight happy vines should give you enough garden-fresh tomato sauce to last the winter.
10 Award-Winning Annuals to Grow from Seed
Flats of garden flowers are costly, but you can grow a whole garden’s worth with just a handful of seed packets and a few inexpensive supplies. Petunias, geraniums, impatiens, marigolds, and salvias are several of the common annual favorites easily grown from seed. Choosing award-winning varieties will ensure good garden performance and consistent summer color. This how-to will help you pick the best seed-grown varieties (for sun or shade) and grow them to perfection.
What are Annuals?
Most bedding plants for long-lasting color are annuals. They are distinguished by their single season of flowering. Once the frosts come, they die, but their consistent colorful blooms make them worth the effort. Annuals are the best plants for containers and empty spots in front beds where bright color is desired. Most attract pollinators, too.
Plant Awards
In the United States, the primary organization that tests and awards plants for performance is All-America Selections (AAS). Fleuroselect is an international organization dedicated to awarding outstanding ornamental plants, and The Royal Horticultural Society is a UK-based society that awards excellent plants with the Award of Garden Merit (AGM). Plants marked by these awards have been repeatedly tested for good performance in a variety of locations and growing conditions.
Award-Winning Annuals
Hummingbird Mint
When it comes to consistent color for high-heat areas, few bedding plants can beat hummingbird mint (Agastache spp.). This everbloomer for summer also has highly fragrant foliage and flowers. The 2010 Fleuroselect winner, Agastache Arcado Pink is easily grown from seed and produces wands of fragrant pink flowers. Bees and hummingbirds visit the blooms, and plants will sometimes survive the winter as short-lived perennials.
Cosmos
The colorful, delicate daisies of cosmos also attract bees and butterflies.
Common cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) has rose, pink, or white flowers that may be single or double. Cosmos Cupcakes mix is a 2014 Fleuroselect winner with cupped flowers of white, pink, and rose produced on 3- to 4-foot plants that bloom for three months. The 2015 Fleuroselect award winner Cosmos ‘Rubinato’ bears large, single rose-pink flowers on sturdy plants that reach 18 inches.
Sulfur cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus) has orange and golden flowers and thrives in high heat. Of these, the super short ‘Cosmic Orange’, a 2000 AAS award winner, is one of the best for the garden.
Marigolds
Whether you prefer tall African marigolds or short French marigolds (Tagetes hybrids), there are award-winners for you!
For compact French types, try the single-flowers, primrose yellow marigold Alumia™ Vanilla Cream, which was awarded the 2012 Fleuroselect Novelty award, or the 2018 AAS award-winning ‘Super Hero Spry’, which is super compact and has double flowers of maroon and yellow.
For tall African marigolds, the 2010 AAS winner ‘Moonsong Deep Orange’ produces huge fade-resistant flowers of tangerine on sturdy, heat-tolerant plants. The classic 1977 award-winning ‘Primrose Lady’ is another superb variety with big, pale-yellow blooms.
Petunias
Petunias thrive in hanging baskets, window boxes, and front beds—blooming the summer away, even in hot summer weather. Bees and hummingbirds visit their flowers that come in a huge array of colors to fit almost any planting scheme.
The 2017 AAS-winning Petunia ‘Evening Scentsation’ is a beautiful seed-grown lavender-blue hybrid with large flowers that emit a sweet scent that attracts bees. Another for big color and endless bloom is the 2015 AAS winner, Petunia Tidal Wave® Red Velour, which bears deep red flowers on spreading plants. The smaller-flowered Petunia ‘Opera Supreme Pink Morn’ has deep pink flowers with white and yellow throats and was given a 2007 AAS award for superior bloom and performance.
Salvias
Flowers of red, lavender, pink and white appear on the Summer Jewel™ salvias (Salvia coccinea Summer Jewel™ series) in the hottest heat of summer. All members of the Summer Jewel™ series were given All-America Selection awards, Summer Jewel™ Pink won the 2010 Fleuroselect Novelty Award, and Summer Jewel™ Red won the 2012 Fleuroselect Gold Medal! Their blooms are favored by hummingbirds, and the compact, bushy plants bloom until fall.
Fairy Queen mealycup sage (Salvia farinacea ‘Fairy Queen’) is a stellar variety that bears wands of blue and white flowers. It was awarded the 2008 Fleuroselect Gold Medal for its compact habit and excellent flowering. The purple-flowered Evolution® Violet is another great selection that was given 2006 AAS and Fleuroselect awards for its nonstop color.
Zinnias
Zinnias come in low-growing forms fit for sunny border edges or containers. Tall forms are better for cutting gardens or larger flower beds.
The low-growing Zinnia ‘Profusion Red’ is an effortless low-growing bloomer that was awarded the 2018 Fleuroselect Gold Medal and a 2017 AAS award. It is both heat and drought tolerant and loved by bees and butterflies. A great tall zinnia for cutting gardens and borders is Zinnia elegans ‘Benary’s Giant Lilac’, the AGM winner has big pastel purple blooms on 2.5-foot plants.
Impatiens
Impatiens are everblooming annuals that give shade gardens a burst of color. There are quite a few award winners to choose from. Of these, the New Guinea Impatiens Florific® Sweet Orange is a 2015 Fleuroselect Gold Medal winner with pale pink flowers blotched with orange-red. The large-flowered Impatiens walleriana Accent Red is a classic red Impatiens that’s easily grown from seed and achieved an AGM award. Both of these classic bedding plants bloom beautifully in full shade. Just be sure to keep them well fed and watered, especially when summer weather heats up.
Seed Starting
Start your seeds in seed trays fitted with five-count, six-pack flats; these give growing annuals enough space for root growth before outdoor planting. Fill the flats with finely textured Black Gold Seedling Mix, which holds moisture and drains well. This seed-starting mix is also OMRI Listed for organic gardening. Lightly moisten the mix before planting.
Read the seed packet for complete planting details and expected germination times before seeding. Most should be lightly covered with mix and kept slightly moist. Plant each cell with two to three seeds to ensure germination in each cell. Seedlings grow best if there is only one plant per cell, so move or pinch off extra seedlings that may sprout. Maintain a warm temperature of at least 68-73º F for best germination. Annuals that like hot weather often germinate faster if flats are placed on heat mats.
Strip shop lights fitted with broad-spectrum grow lights will ensure good seedling growth and provide trays with even light. One shop light will illuminate two trays. Keep trays 4 inches from the grow lights for good germination and to keep seedlings from getting leggy. Raise the lights as your plants grow. Once seedlings have emerged and their new leaves have begun to grow, feed them with half-strength Proven Winners Premium Water Soluble Plant Food.
Before bringing your seedlings outdoors in late spring, slowly get them acclimated to natural sunlight and wind by placing them in a protected spot with partial sun for one week. This process of “hardening off” allows tender seedlings that have been grown indoors to toughen up before outdoor planting. After this step, they will be ready to plant!
DIY Garden Project: Grow Amazing Amaryllis
Learn how to grow beautiful amaryllis (Hippeastrum spp.) and keep them from year to year. These winter-blooming favorites are commonly sold during the holidays but will continue to bloom for much longer, with good care. Watch this video to make the most of your amaryllis.