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We all want to fill our gardens with flowers in a flash, but there’s no reason you have to spend a bundle. Many beautiful, long-blooming flowers grow easily (and quickly!) from seed. And you’ll save tons by investing in a packet of seeds that costs just a few dollars, versus buying packs of seedlings at the nursery.
A couple of things to keep in mind: Annuals are a better bet than perennials for instant color. That’s because most perennials need several seasons to take off. The old gardening adage is that perennials crawl, walk, run—meaning they are slow to establish the first year, then slowly push new growth the second year, and finally, flourish and bloom in year three. That means you often won’t see much bang for your buck until several years down the road.
However, for annuals, many flowers can be planted in the spring for blooms from summer to fall. While you can start seeds of some of these flowers indoors to give them a jump on the growing season, many can be direct sowed into the soil once it warms slightly and danger of frost has passed.
Read the seed package for directions, which will list the days to maturity. This indicates how long you typically can expect a flower to go from seed to bloom.
Read on to learn about our favorite flowers that grow easily from seed:1
1. Marigold
Marigolds come in heights ranging from 6 inches to 3 feet tall in a variety of sunny colors including gold, red, and bicolor. Pollinators love them, and they’ll bloom from mid-summer to the first frost.
Plant seeds about a week after the last expected frost. Bonus: Save the dried flowers for seeds to plant next year!
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2. Zinnia
Zinnias come in an array of shapes and sizes, from tiny ball-like flowers to big, bold mum-like shapes. You’ll find every color imaginable, and the more you cut them, the more they produce, so they’re ideal in cutting gardens.
Plant seeds when daytime temps are in the 50s and warmer.
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3. Cosmos
These ethereal flowers are lovely in mixed borders or as part of a cutting garden. They come in every shade from purest white to hot pink.
Plant the seeds when all danger of frost has passed.
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4. Nasturtium
These rambling flowers are low-growing or slightly mounding. They come in beautiful shades of peach, pink, red, and orange. The exquisite flowers and leaves are all edible and make a pretty addition to salads and cocktails.
Plant the seeds about a week after the last expected frost date.
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5. Love in a Mist
If nothing else, you need to plant these flowers for their irresistible name! The delicate blue blooms attract tons of pollinators.
Plant the seeds when the soil temperatures warm up to the 60s, which is usually in late spring to early summer when it’s safe to put out tomato or pepper seedlings.
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6. Ammi
Ammi is a tall, graceful annual that looks smashing in cut flower arrangements. Its wide, flat umbel-shaped flowers attract tons of pollinators. It also self-sows easily, so you may never need to plant them again, once you have a good crop.
Plant the seeds as soon as the soil can be worked. Because they’re not the longest-lasting flowers, succession plant seeds a few weeks apart for longest harvest time.
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7. Morning Glory
Another vining flower is morning glory, which twines gracefully up a trellis or fence line. Deadhead them if you don’t want them to reseed next year because some types can become quite pervasive in the garden if left to produce seeds.
Let the ground warm up to the mid-60s before you sow these seeds.
8. Sweet Alyssum
Sweet alyssum is a low-growing, sweetly-scented flower with a delicate honey scent. Pollinators love it, and this annual can take the cold, surviving well into fall even after a few light frosts.
Plant the seeds as soon as the soil can be worked.
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9. Moss Rose
Also known as portulaca, this low-growing plant boasts brilliantly-colored blooms of red, white, yellow, and hot pink along its succulent stems.
Sow seeds after the last expected frost date.
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10. Cardinal Climber
If you’re looking for a pretty vining plant, cardinal climber has lacey foliage and red tubular-shaped flowers that hummingbirds love.
Plant the seeds about a week or two after the last frost date.
11. Sweet Pea
Sweet peas have a delicate fragrance and vining form that’s charming on a trellis in the spring garden. They prefer cool weather and fade when it gets too hot.
Soak the seeds overnight to aid germination, then plant them about six to eight weeks before the last expected frost date in your area.
12. Dill
This herb actually produces lovely, large, wispy flowers that pollinators adore. They make a nice filler flower for bouquets, too.
Sow seeds in early spring because it actually prefers cool weather.
13. Verbena Bonariensis
These purple flowers on tall, wiry stems make a beautiful addition to borders. They’re a great source of late season color and nectar for pollinators in your garden.
You can sow seeds indoors about 8 weeks before the last frost to get a jumpstart on these somewhat slow-growers, or you can sow them in the garden directly.
14. Sunflower
Sunflowers are the quintessential flower of summer! They come in varying heights from 2 feet to 10 feet tall and every color from cheery yellow to chocolate brown to deepest burgundy. They attract tons of pollinators, too, especially late in the season.
Plant the seeds from early to mid-summer for a succession of flowers all the way through fall.
15. Chamomile
You can’t help but smile when you see the cheery, daisy-like flowers of chamomile. There are both annual and perennial varieties, but opt for German chamomile (the annual type) for quick results.
Plant the seeds after the last frost date in your area.
