Self Seeding Annuals????

Hello,

Can someone please give me some names of self seeding annuals? I have Morning Glory, Cleome and Cosmo's, but I would like to get into annual seeds as I have always been a "perennial gal" myself. Also, has anyone heard of a Poppy called Victory Cross that is supposed to be an heirloom? I haven't had any success googling it and none of the watchdog heirloom seed companies have it listed at their sites. I really want to try it. It is similiar in appearance to the Breadseed Poppy/Lettuce Leaf Poppy but the center of the Victory Cross is green not yellow or white. Please oh please send me some names of self seeding annuals...

Thanks a bunch for any help!!!

Megan

Hi Megan,
I think we worked that one pretty hard here http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/568944/
you might get a few more specific answers though
Al

Oooops, didn't see that, thanks Al...

Hi, lafko06-- Welcome to DG.

Funny you should ask about these annuals, since I am just getting interested in them too. I got David Stuart's "Classic Plant Combinations" from the library -- it showed lots of great pictures of annual combinations for the border.

Most were new to me-- like hesperis with columbines, foxglove and centaurea, poppies with peonies, etc. Very interesting. (Some looked pretty 'wildflowery' (weedy?) which wouldn't work in every garden, I guess.) There were lots of good ideas on the other thread and I studied the seed catalogs too for those that would work with the bulbs and perennials I have growing.

Oh, and I talked with the gardener at our public perennial garden about how to add 'interest' and 'layering' to my perennial bed. He said to plant some interesting annuals--he suggested the false queen anne's lace and dill 'vierling', and also 'tassel flower' (which I know next to nothing about.) and a lot more that I can't remember.

So, Let us know what you are going to plant. Seems like a fun idea--now I have to go to the Propagation and Wintersowing Forums and find out how to grow them!

Happy gardening. t. :-)

lafko06, the following have self-seeded for me in western North Carolina: Nigella damascena, Eschscholzia (California poppy), sunflowers, bacherlor's buttons, larkspur (Consolida ambigua), and agrostemma.

My apologies if this is a redundant post. The first time I was typing it I hit some wrong key and everything disappeared.

If you really want to get into annual gardening, try looking at a charming little book called "A Garden From a Hundred Packets of Seed", by............well I just went all around looking in all our bookcases for that little book and I can't find it. I think I have the title correct.

Thank you both very much, I'm heading to google to find the books now.

Take care.

Megan

missgarney-- just looked up James Fenton's Book "A Garden from a Hundred Packets of Seed" on Amazon and searched through it. Looks like a lovely little book and I ordered it. Thanks so much for thinking of it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374160295/ref=ase_kkorg-20/104-0865335-1639162?s=books&v=glance&n=283155&tagActionCode=kkorg-20

Awesome, I couldn't find it on google or in my book club. Thanks for the link tabasco!!!!

Megan

As far as my other question at the top of the thread, I also posted this info in Heirlooms in my other thread:

Okay, this one has been driving me crazy trying to find but I finally did it!!! It's actually called VICTORIA Cross and it is a hard to find heirloom. It looks like most of them are available in the UK, but they grew hardily in the Western US from what I can research. I am going to try them out and found some on Ebay. Here is the link if you'd like to see what they look like:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7713732928&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

Pretty huh?

M,
That is unusual. I like poppies. I move plants around too much for them to like me though.
Al

I will want to see pics of your VC poppy growing in the garden! :-) So interesting looking and it does appear to be so popular in the UK and so rare here.

I don't quite understand that, except that poppies in general are so very popular (are they the national flower there?) in England, and I think people find them harder to grow here...don't know why that is, but I can't get them to be happy here, either.

But I love them and oogle over them in the catalogs. They have begun introducing many more varieties here-- they are all so pretty!

Miss garney and Tabasco,

I just ordered the James Fenton book in my book club today along with the Blue book on canning that someone recommended in the Canning Threads. I can't wait to get them. I don't know about you Tabasco, but I have a feeling we're going to be buying even more seeds after reading the book!!

Megan

Megan, I've already bought a hundred packets of seed, I just need to know how to make a garden out of them!

Was thinking more about the 'self seeding' annuals question and also came up with 'Hesperis' (Dame's Rocket) and Sweet William. I am going to winter sow both this month since I tried to sow them in ground last year and lost them. There is also 'maltese cross' lychnis that might go with your poppies....

http://www.anniesannuals.com/signs/l/lychnis_chalcedonica_MC.htm

LOL!!!!!! Are you sure you only bought 100 packs of seeds? I did actually get the Sweet William. I'm hoping our new book gives us lots of heirloom self seeding annuals ideas. I am planning on getting Sweet Pea and now I'll have to get maltese cross too, it's gorgeous (red is my favorite color and I loooove tall flowers). I'll look into the hesperis too. Annie's is great, thanks for sharing.

I might be wrong about this, but I thought I read somewhere on one of the forums that Dame's Rocket was invasive. I'll have to go look and see if I can find it.

Yes, dame's rocket is invasive in some environments, I believe.

It really it, I seen it on all our local lists. Not up there with buckthorn yet!

Yes, good point, I noticed that it said it was invasive in the plant files. It seems like a heck a lot of these self seeding annuals have a tendency to want to dominate. However, for this pretty red one, I have a perfect spot for it to go to town. I'll let it do all the gardening work instead of vice versa.