Seedy strategies

It's all too easy to get carried away when you see rack upon rack of tempting packets like those in our garden centre: you just want them all. Here's how to make those tough decisions:

Make a desert-island list of flowers, veg and herbs you wouldn't want to be without. This is your initial shopping list: at this stage, it'll probably be too long.

Draw up a plan of your garden to scale, sketching in the areas where you want to sow flowers or vegetables. This gives you a realistic idea of how much space you've got.

Prune your shopping list to fit your plan. This involves some agonising choices – but think how you'd feel if those extra seeds went to waste. And there's always next year...

Decide how much you need: a few annual cosmos scattered through your border won't require many seeds, but if you're planning a big bed of mixed varieties you'll need more.

Strengthen your willpower and armed with your list, come to the garden centre and fill your basket. Add plant labels, seed trays and seed compost, and you're ready to sow.
Please ask the staff in our garden centre in Newcastle upon Tyne for more information and advice about how to choose which seeds to sow.