Biennials — Why They're Worth the Wait

Biennials. The flowers that reward patience — and absolutely earn their spot in any serious cutting patch.

A biennial is a plant that spends its first year making roots, leaves and a strong crown, then flowers, sets seed and dies in its second year. On a cutting patch that translates into: sow now, pick armfuls next summer.

Why grow biennials at all?

The simple answer: they fill the 'hungry gap' between late spring bulbs and the first wave of hardy annuals. In May and June your patch needs biennials, or it's bare.

The deeper answer: the biennial crops are some of the most romantic, scent-heavy, long-stem flowers you can grow in a UK garden. Sweet williams. Foxgloves. Wallflowers. Honesty. Iceland poppies. Sweet rocket.

My four essential biennials

1. Sweet williams (Dianthus barbatus) — sow June/July, plant out autumn, pick the following May–June. Scented, long-lasting, come in gorgeous dark reds through to purest white.

2. Foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea and D. ferruginea) — sow June/July, overwinter as a rosette, flower spectacularly in June. 'Sutton's Apricot' is a wedding-florist favourite.

3. Wallflowers (Erysimum cheiri) — sow May/June, plant out early autumn, fill your spring with scent. The old cottage-garden varieties still earn their space.

4. Honesty (Lunaria annua) — grow once, seed around forever. Lovely mauve or white spring flowers, then translucent silver seed-pods for dried arrangements.

How to grow them

• Sow in June/July, in modules, in a shaded spot.
• Pot on as they grow. Most biennials make substantial crowns by October.
• Plant out September/October into their final positions.
• Protect from slugs over winter — wool pellets or copper rings.
• Pick the following May/June. Hard cut. Most biennials will throw a second flush if you keep up with it.

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For a month-by-month guided year on the patch, join The Best Bunch Membership. Or work through the full system in the Seed to Vase course.