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Sophie Valentine shares her gorgeous garden on her account @lookinsidemygarden, where she also dishes the gardening secrets behind the beautiful plants.
She discussed her top pick of plants to grow for spring with Express.co.uk. It comes after the gardening whiz shared a Calpol trick for growing sweet peas.
Sophie said: “Cosmos is a must for anyone new to growing flowers. They are so easy to grow and get the kids involved.
“You won’t believe how big they will get and you will get so much joy watching the bees bouncing around on their flowers.”
The cosmos flower has pretty pink or yellow blooms, and is relatively simple to grow.
They are native to Mexico and are actually members of the sunflower family.
Sophie went on: “If you don’t have window sill then I share a method of growing seeds in milk bottle cartons, which is a really easy way to get growing too.”
She added a number of other tips when it comes to growing cosmos from seed.
The gardener said: “We have all made that mistake of sowing too many.
“Last year I got carried away with cosmos, which I hadn’t grown before and I ended up with 20 plants.
“I gave lots away to friends and neighbours which was lovely.”
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How to plant cosmos seeds in milk cartons
Sophie plants her seeds in milk cartons, turning them into outdoor propagators.
To make them she takes a craft knife and cuts around the middle of the two litre milk cartoons, leaving a portion of the plastic connected to create a lid.
She plants her seeds in here, before sellotaping the bottles up again and allowing the seed to grow in them.
The bottles form a miniature green house for the seedlings to germinate and grow.
This will allow anyone to grow seeds in the colder months without a greenhouse.
If there is a hard frost, Sophie protects her “seed babies” in their cartons with garden fleece.
Tips to grow seeds
Presoaking seeds
Presoak seeds in warm water for 24 hours in a shallow container before planting them immediately.
This will help seeds to germinate faster by plumping up the tiny sapling inside.
It is important to not soak them for any longer.
Putting them in the freezer
If you are sowing seeds in the spring, it can be helpful to put the seeds in the freezer.
This tricks them into thinking its winter, so when the seeds come out they decide its time to grow.
Put bags of seeds in the freezer for two weeks before planting.
Make sure to check these methods are suitable for the specific plant you are sowing.
Gardener Mark Lane discussed the best place to position your houseplants to help them thrive.
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