I picked up the current issue of Horticulture (which hasn't yet arrived at my house) at the MANTS trade show (Mid-Atlantic Nurserymen) in Baltimore last week. And one of the articles is about plants that experts LOVE to grow from seed. One of them, pictured here, is the 'Black Pearl' ornamental pepper, which could easily be used as a summer edging plant.
I used to be a seed person myself, with the fluorescent light rig in the basement, seed trays, and all kinds of other paraphernalia. I did manage to get going some pretty successful tomato and pepper plants, but wow -- what bad luck I had with all the flowers. I couldn't get a sweet pea going to save my life, nor a petunia nor a daisy.
I did, however, have OK luck with sowing seed directly into the ground where I wanted the plants. The zinnias and cosmos came up, along with a few nasturtiums. My biggest mistake, which I highly regret, was planting morning glories. I'd seen a photo in a book about Sissinghurst in which Vita Sackville West had woven blue morning glories over a small table-like structure to give her a "box" covered with blooming vines. I never quite managed the technique, but yes, the blue color was stunning. And now, I still have the darn things coming up everywhere all over my garden, and I spend hour upon hour pulling them out every summer. What a nuisance! I do, however, love my pure white dame's rocket that I planted in the garden around the same time and that seeds around not quite so prolifically. There's simply nothing like a huge mass of it to brighten up a dark corner on a spring evening. And when it pops up in another location, it usually adds some height and interest that is not in any way objectionable.
So my recommendation is to try growing some of the Horticulture recommendations directly in the ground ... but do a little research before you plant to find out how these plants grow and what they're likely to do once they're established in the garden.
(image: ARS/USDA)
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