My week of sowing 2 - Sunflowers and Rudbeckia

From left to right: Rudbeckia, sunflowers sunburst mixed, and velvet queen

There wasn't much room for ambitious sowing plans this weekend.  Although I managed to turf out the six pots of sweet peas from my second batch into my 'cold frame', there had been no movement on the aquilegia/ panicum elegans/ snapdragons/ stock front so they all had to stay in situ.  But it was a beautifully bright sunny day and I was determined to make the most of it.  A quick rifle through my packets did not reveal anything desperate to get into the ground, so I went for sunflowers and rudbeckia.

Sunflowers

Sunburst mixed - Believe it or not, I have never grown a sunflower, but I love them.  For me they perfectly encapsulate summer with their huge yellow faces and majestic height.  This height is going to make finding a space to put them interesting, I can't exactly do my usual trick of stuffing them into the front of a border and let them domineer the beds.  Because of this I have not sown many, just two of this variety, one per pot.  I might sow a couple more later on but what Im going to do with the other 45 seeds I don't know.

Velvet Queen - Why is it that the same type of seed by the same manufacturer is packaged differently?! The mixed variety was encased in a small inner-packet-type-thing, these were just loose inside and of course I ripped open the bottom and am now going to struggle not to lose the rest.  Im more excited by this variety out of the two because they are a bit different being bright rusty red.  Again I only planted two at this point because the packet said each seed was effectively a fussy sleeper and needed a whole pot to itself.  An we all know space is at a premium.

Rudbeckia

Cappuccino - As with everything Im planting at the moment, I have never grown rudbeckia before.  I am rather fond of daisy type plants which is why these have made the cut this year.  The burgundy centres contrasting with the bright yellow mightily appealed to me.  I sowed 5 in two pots each, not that I want that many but thought I might as well.  This will definitely be one that I am giving away at the end of the drive if they do.  Nothing special to the planting here, just buried the seeds 1/4 inch under the soil.

My aquilegia seeds have definitely swelled and gone black as i can now see them casually laying on the surface of the soil.  While that would not be ideal if ones hand suddenly did that, or any other body part for that matter, I imagine in an aquilegia seed this is a good sign.  It is far too early for the stocks etc to be moving yet so not much to report this week.

See here for my latest update on the sweet pea situation