New Border from seed - Your help required

I have a strip of land at my Allotment plot that I want to turn into a flower border for this summer, growing from seed only to flower this summer!

The bed is 40 ft long, 6ft wide at one end, and tapers to 3ft at the other, I also have 6 young fruit trees planted along this bed but they will not cast any shade on this sun drenched/full sun bed. The soil is heavy clay/loam and is in the process of being dug over and will be ready for seed sowing shortly.

What I am looking for from this bed, this summer is...

1. Lots of colour.
2. Flowers to pick, for the vase at home.
3.Flowers this summer, from seed.

I'll get a photo of the location tomorrow, and provide updates through the season, if it fails or succeeds.

I already have a few sweet peas on the go, but that's it so far, I have tons of thoughts on flowers but would like to know what your mainstays are for "seed to flowers, in a season"

Steve...

 

My first thought is dahlias, certainly tick all the boxes!!!

Val

 

California poppies, Calendula, Nigella, Cosmos, Snapdragons and Cornflowers would be on my list for colourful flowers that will flower from seed this year and look spot on in a vase.

 

Hi Steve - what I did when I started was to get the Mr Fothergill and Thompson and Morgan catalogues (but you can probably do this on line now). They identify first year flowering perennials.

With a border that size, I would suggest perennials rather than annuals. Hardy perennials are much less work.

 

Thank you Val, Fen and Peter.

The reason for annuals from seed is by way of a challenge to myself, it's something I have never really done because at home we have three cats and if I have a clear patch of ground for seed sowing, the cats appear to be drawn towards it.

I will be growing perennials on in a nursery bed and also in one of my tunnels or greenhouse, ready for next year and for this bed, but for this year I have set myself this challenge.

I do have plenty of my own ideas of plants to grow, but I ask here because there is always something else that would fit the brief, but one would never think of.

Steve...