Herb of the month: Sage
The flower garden: Sowing pansy seeds this month may not be everyone’s idea of a good thing to do but, I promise, it is and can have excellent results; in fact, germination rates in January and February are often higher than if sown later in the year. Pansies and their smaller flowered ancestors. violas, are a little slow to get going but, once they decide to grow, they burst into flower surprisingly fast and, with regular deadheading, they will flower for months on end. Stocks, Virginia stocks, and matthiola are other easy to grow, fast-flowering, species to sow now. Then there are the ever-popular antirrhinums — in all their varied glory, heights and colours — candytuft, corncockle, flax/alsi, cosmos, exotic looking godetia with its satiny blooms, larkspur, phacelia which is a magnet for bees and butterflies, dazzling Californian poppies, innocent gypsophila and the various versions of petunia to choose from, the latter preferring a warm, sheltered spot well away from any chill breezes that may blow.
Many gardeners only grow easily recognisable plant species. Try to cultivate something new and, then, eat it too
Surprisingly, you can also sow sunflowers — be these dwarf, medium or tall, yellow, red, white or chocolate hued — where they are to bloom, and, if they are tardy in germinating, don’t worry, they will pop up when the soil and air temperatures suit them. Another surprise sowing suggestion is dahlias, seed sown now in trays/pots in the sun will result in strong seedlings to plant out in a few weeks to come. You can also grow some in large pots so that they can be placed in dappled shade to extend their flowering period throughout the hot weather to come. For something completely different, try pitcher plants or malva (mystic merlin).