The last frost has passed, and the days are warming up. The mornings are still cool and crisp but soon warm up as the sun goes into the sky. The last month has been ideal sowing weather, and I have finally started to sow some seeds.

This year I wanted to be patient and wait for the weather to warm before sowing seeds. In previous years, I rushed to sow under glass in February, but there was not enough light, and I ended up with leggy, stretched out seedlings. So this year, I waited. Waiting paid off when we experienced freezing weather for a week in March, which could have caused considerable harm to young seedlings if plants were not protected. I started sowing at the start of April and have continued to sow throughout the month.

Flowers

This is the first year I have made an effort to propagate flowers by seed. I have sown the following seeds under glass, and a few have already germinated:

• Foxgloves
• Delphiniums
• Sweet William
• Campanula
• Viola
• Cosmos
• Impatiens

I have sown these particular flowers to plant in my front garden and in line with my aim to build deep and fully stocked flower borders with native plants.

Edibles

Over the last few years, I have been trying to narrow down the types of fruit and vegetables I go to that grow well in my climate (and garden micro-climate) but, more importantly, will get eaten. Each year I also test out new plants. Last year I managed to grow artichoke for the first time, and I hope to harvest a crop from these plants later this year.

• Sprouts
• Aubergine
• Lettuce – Iceberg
• Lettuce – All sorts/cut and come again
• Sweet peppers
• Tomatoes
• Courgettes
• Runner beans
• Dwarf french beans
• Peas
• Red Onion
• White Onion
• Garlic
• Potatoes – Pentland Javelin
• Potatoes – King Edward