Annuals To Plant Now - Winter

Winter, to lots of people, is a dull and depressing time of year, lots of grey skies and rainy days. But winter to me is far from any of that, it's an opportunity to grow stunning winter annuals, things that thrive in the cold and wet.

What can you plant though? Surely there's not much that is going to enjoy such weather. Wrong. Let's explore the stunning annuals awaiting you this winter!

Pansy

Pansies come in a stunning array of colours, from a solid white, through to yellows, maroons, and purples that border black, and every possible combination in between! They are wonderfully compact, small growing plants, that are perfect for filling in those undesirable gaps.

Plant in full sun or part shade, in a rich, free-draining soil.

Viola

Viola are essentially a miniature pansy, they grow very much the same, the flowers come in the same sort of range, but... their tiny! 

Calendula

I do love Calendulas', I just think they always look so bright and cheerful. They can grow in full sun or part shade, they don't need masses of watering, and enjoy poor to average soils. Plus they are edible and medicinal! - consult your doc first.

Cornflower

Cornflowers are beautiful, vibrant flowering annuals, ranging in blues, pinks, and purples. They do prefer a rich, slightly more alkaline soil (7.2 - 7.8), and can get a reasonable size (up to 60-70cm for some varieties).

Marigold

These things are so easy to grow, you can buy them as seedlings or seeds , put them in, water a bit and away they go! 

They don't last particularly long, but they self seed easily meaning you can have then forever. Ive found they grow in most soils, in full sun, and part shade. They are also great companion plants for confusing pests.

Snapdragons

I think we all remember playing with these when we were young, opening and closing their little 'mouths'.

Well these bightly coloured stunners.frow from 15cm to quite large. They prefer an acidic to neutral soil in full sun to part shade. A classic in any garden.

Sweet Peas

This will be a first year growing these for me, these come in multiple sizes, from 25cm to vines up to almost 2m tall.

Flowers can be anything from red, pink and lavender to blue or white. They prefer more of an alkaline soil, and either full or part shade. But they have a lovely scent!