In the garden this week: Camellias and hardy annuals

Sow hardy annuals We usually sow hardy annual flowers in early spring, to bloom in summer and rip out in autumn, but there is a clue to greater success in their name. They are indeed hardy, and if you sow them now they will make sturdy little plants before growth stops for winter. Next year they will produce more and earlier flowers than spring-sown plants. Try cornflower, pot marigold, larkspur, corn poppies and poached-egg plant. Tend to camellias This is the moment when camellias are forming their flower buds for next spring, so pay them a little attention now for best results. Most important is water: if your camellia is in a container then it is in grave danger of getting dried out and this is why buds sometimes fail to form; so keep the compost moist, ideally watering with rainwater, but if not then use tap water, as moistness is all right now. Apply a little high-potash fertiliser, too, to give the plant no excuses.