Easy hardy perennials

The simplest and best value-for-money plantings are direct summer-sown perennials, says Graham Rice, as he offers his choice of the best plants to grow

- Graham Rice

EVERY flower garden depends on its perennial flowers for beautiful blooms and fantastic foliage for three, and sometimes even four, seasons of the year. Perennial flowers come back year after year and are good value for money. But planting a whole flower garden can be expensive unless, instead of buying plants, you grow your own hardy perennial plants from seeds.

Think about it. You can buy a packet of 25 black-eyed Susan seeds for about one-fifth of the price of buying just one plant of the same variety. The most economical way to raise perennials is not to buy plants, but to buy seeds, and many familiar perennial favorites such as lupins and delphiniums and echinacea can be grown in this way.

Where to buy

Chiltern Seeds - chilternseeds.co.uk, 01491 824675

Plants of Distinction - plantsofdistinction.co.uk, 01449 721720

Plant World - plant-world-seeds.com, 01803 872939

Thompson & Morgan - thompson-morgan.com, 0333 400 0033

Grow a bargain

Of course, not every seed will sprout. But if only half of them develop into plants then you have still grown a bargain. And you can start now. Seeds of many perennial flowers can be sown in the spring or in the summer, but sowing the seeds in summer is easier because you need no special equipment. Although temperatures are rising in spring, the weather can be cold and wet, and frosts can damage seedlings, so they need a propagator, a heat mat or a cosy sunroom to protect the delicate new shoots.

Seeds sown in summer