The Case for Growing Flowers from Seed (Even if You're a Complete Beginner)
Oh these? I grew them myself….
I prefer growing from seed for many reasons. Many beginner flower growers feel scared about it — worried that seed growing versus plonking in seedlings is much harder and trickier and only 'for professionals.' This is such a shame.
Although buying seedlings absolutely has its place - one of them being you're having a coffee at your local garden centre and something gorgeous catches your eye so you buy it and take it home, totally okay - the world of seed raising has so much more to offer. Here are four reasons why I prefer growing from seed.
1. Variety
The seedlings you'll find at your local nursery or garden centre are often intended as 'bedding' varieties rather than 'cut flower' varieties. Bedding varieties are bred for filling your garden with flowers and colour, but not necessarily for the long stems and picture perfect blooms you want for flowers intended for cutting.
And further, the selection is restrictive. A punnet of 'sweet peas' at Bunnings is a thousand miles from being able to select a specific colour, stem length, flowering period and scent from a specialty sweet pea breeder's catalogue. Growing from seed opens up an entirely different world of varieties — including ones that professional flower growers and florists actually use. A specific colour, a variety you've seen on Instagram or a flower shape that has captured your heart, chances are you will be able to find a seed seller who can make all your floral dreams come true.
2. Cost
Even the most expensive seeds will be cheaper than buying that flower as seedlings. A punnet of seedlings may hold 6, 8 or 10 plants. A packet of seeds? Anything from 15 (sweet peas) to hundreds or even thousands (poppies). Most quality seeds cost around $5-$6 a packet and will enable you to grow multiple seedlings. The cost is further reduced as not all seeds need to be planted at the same time (unlike that punnet of seedlings you bought last weekend that is getting leggy and if it doesn't go in soon will be dead).
3. Connection
I feel connected to my mum, my Nan and all the other women in my family who have grown beautiful flowers and food from seeds they have been gifted, swapped with friends, or saved from previous harvests. And of course not just the women. One of the most precious gifts I ever received was my Pop's vegetable seed collection. A champion grower, still active in his garden when he turned 100, growing on his seeds is like having him with me in the garden every year.
4. The smug factor
Never to be underestimated, the sense of growing something yourself fills me with a satisfaction and pride that I rarely experience anywhere else in my life. Try saying out loud "Oh those? I grew them myself." Go on, try it on for size - I think you'll like it. Even if growing from seed is more work than buying punnets - and yes, you may not nail it first time you try - the effort is absolutely worth it for the smug factor alone.
Ready to grow your own and think you might like a guiding hand? The Flower Growing Year is my 12-month beginner flower growing course with monthly seed packets and printed instructions posted directly to your door. Digital resources including step by step videos are yours for life. The course was created for Australian conditions — because we don't grow like anyone else, and we shouldn't have to.
More details here.