Top 10 easy to grow flowers

Image: Nasturtiums

Do your neighbours' borders burgeon with colour, and their containers drip with flowers while yours look brown and crispy? The fact is that some garden plants are easier to grow from seed than others - and your neighbour probably knows that already! If you're looking for help to create a vibrant summer garden, you've come to the right place!

Here are our expert horticultural team's favourite, easy-grow flower seeds to try:

1. Sunflower
2. Sweet pea
3. Nigella (Love-In-A-Mist)
4. Aquilegia
5. Eschscholzia (Californian Poppy)
6. Nasturtium
7. Marigold
8. Hardy Geranium (Cranesbill)
9. Fuchsia
10. Pansy

1. Sunflower

These huge yellow blooms can span up to 30cm in diameter
Image: Sunflower 'Russian Giant' seeds from T&M (© Martin Moore)

Always a favourite with kids - they'll definitely be impressed with Sunflower 'Russian Giant' growing up to 3m tall! Just sow the seeds straight into the ground in a sunny, sheltered spot and watch them grow and grow and grow! Be sure to provide the stems with supports to grow the tallest sunflowers around. Check out our full range of sunflower seeds for different colours, sizes and flower shapes.

2. Sweet Pea

These sweet peas come in traditional colours but have long, strong stems
Image: Sweet Pea 'Scent Infusion' seeds from T&M

Sweet pea seeds are a quick route to irresistible fragrance and colour. And the more you pick, the more flowers they produce! The large seeds of sweet peas are easy to handle, but if sowing sounds complicated, then buy them as plug plants! A sunny spot, a supportive fence, and regular watering are all these climbers need for a steady stream of 'home grown' cut flowers. Just keep an eye out for mice, slugs and snails – they love the young shoots. Consider covering with a mini-cloche, or even a cut-off plastic bottle.

3. Nigella (Love-in-a-mist)

These beautiful, rich blue flowers are easy to grow
Image: Nigella damascena 'Miss Jekyll' seeds from T&M

Nigella is an incredibly easy plant to grow. Simply scatter love-in-a-mist seeds across a patch of bare soil and let them look after themselves! With jewel-like flowers and delicate ferny leaves, nigella is much tougher than it looks. As the flowers fade, this pretty plant will set seed for the following year. What could be simpler!

4. Aquilegia

This mix of pastel shades looks wonderful in cottage garden borders
Image: Aquilegia caerulea 'Biedermeier' seeds from T&M

Aquilegia seeds are easy to grow and will come back year after year. Start them in small pots for transplanting later on. Once they're established they'll self-seed, so you'll always have fresh plants each year. They tolerate almost any conditions in sun or semi-shade, and their pretty bonnet-like flowers come in almost every imaginable colour combination.

5. Eschscholzia (Californian Poppy)

These vibrant red blooms rise from mounds of feathery blue-green foliage
Image: Californian Poppy 'Red Chief' seeds from T&M

If you're not a fan of watering, then Californian poppies are an easy-to-grow choice for your garden. These colourful little annuals thrive in poor, dry soil and full sun, so they're perfect for filling forgotten corners of the garden. Just scatter the seeds where you want them to flower and let them take care of themselves. Each year they will set seed which will grow the following summer, creating effortless drifts of colour.

6. Nasturtium

With unique colours, 'Chameleon' is a striking addition to any garden
Image: Nasturtium 'Chameleon' seeds from T&M

Quick-growing and colourful, nasturtium seeds are an excellent choice if you want to get children into gardening. Sow them in borders as ground cover or let them spill out of containers. The large seeds can be sown directly into the soil – just wait until after the last frosts. Their peppery leaves and flowers add an interesting dimension to summer salads.

7. Marigold

These pink-russet blooms give a traditional favourite a modern twist
Image: Marigold 'Strawberry Blonde' seeds from T&M

These easy to grow bedding plants are another great choice for young gardeners. Marigold seeds are easy to handle, and grow quickly so you'll have a short wait for their colourful flowers. From tall varieties for the border to small types for beds and containers, there's a marigold to suit every sunny spot in the garden.

8. Hardy Geranium (Cranesbill)

These seeds bloom in a variety of popular colours
Image: Geranium 'Reflections' seeds from T&M

Cranesbill is so popular because it's a reliable, low maintenance, ground cover that will wander through your borders year after year. Hardy geraniums are not difficult to grow from seed, but you can also grow them from bare root and plug plants which is even simpler.

9. Fuchsia

These pink and white flowers form a neat shrub perfect for containers
Image: Fuchsia 'Lady Thumb' (Hardy) from T&M

If you're not keen on sowing seeds, fuchsias can be bought as plugs or garden-ready plants, and are an easy way to add colour to hanging baskets and patio containers. The plants come in all colours and shapes, from trailing to upright. You could even try the climbing Fuchsia 'Skyrocket' for an ambitious display. For a really professional look, pinch out the very tips of each stem while the plants are still young to encourage lots of bushy growth. Fuchsia berries are edible, but not always tasty!

10. Pansy

With sophisticated colours, 'Moulin Rouge' works well in modern planting schemes
Image: Pansy 'Moulin Rouge' F1 seeds from T&M

With their cheery faces, it's hard to resist the appeal of pansies. These garden favourites are easy to grow from seed but even easier from pansy plants. Whether you grow them for winter or summer colour, if you deadhead the faded flowers it will encourage more and more colourful blooms.

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