Gardening in the summer, especially growing plants from seed, is both rewarding and enriching. The warm temperatures and extended daylight hours provide the ideal conditions for seeds to germinate and thrive. Summer gardening from seed gives us the opportunity to cultivate a wide variety of plants, from vibrant flowers to nutritious vegetables. Summer's warmth accelerates the germination process, and seedlings often emerge within days. During this period, it is vital to protect young plants from extreme heat and pests.

Key summer gardening tasks include:

• regular watering, particularly in the early morning or late evening to prevent evaporation
• mulching helps retain soil moisture and suppress weeds
• deadheading spent flowers encourages new blooms, while pruning maintains plant health and shape
• feeding plants with appropriate fertilszers supports growth
• vigilant pest and disease control, along with consistent weeding, ensures a healthy garden
• and of course, harvesting ripe produce promptly encourages continuous yields.

Summer gardening and growing from seed is not only cost-effective but also allows us to experiment with a diverse array of plants and plan our gardens for next year. 

After a brief printing delay, the Summer Collections from Seasons, by Collie Flowers left us on 24 June; so very soon, or perhaps already if you've resisted the temptation for a sneak peak on here you'll know what you're going to be growing; but what about what everyone else is growing? Because we love to share, we've put together a complete pack of information that covers all the seeds that have been sent to our subscribers. So if there's something in there you want to grow but wasn't included in your collection, you know you'll have access to the best growing advice there is - plus with your subscriber discount you can always pick up an extra pack of seeds, or just let me know you want something adding to the spreadsheet for Spring 2025!

And it's not just the growing information that we've included, right here is the place to go to find a picture of what you're going to be growing, because once again we've thrown a few new varieties into the mix this season!