Keen to grow some edible flowers next year (and easily encouraged by an article I read) I decided to start with pansies.

The original plan was to buy some plug plants, but not one of the major plant providers had any of the following: Viola cornuta, Viola hybrida, Viola tricolor, Viola x williamsiana or Viola odorata. I may have been a little late purchasing or, more sensibly, they probably know how fussy some of these plants are to grow (for me, at least!).

Unperturbed, I bought seeds (Cornuta and Singing-the-Blues). The germination rate was over 80% for both  – a great start! But since then we have had a few casualties (mostly the more expensive Cornuta). The survival rate for STB remains good so the hanging basket should be full but the flower bed is looking a little thin – only 5 little plants left!