Bishy Barnabee’s Cottage Garden

Beginners

Forgiving flowers, fast results — perfect for your first garden

Quick picks
Sow this monthSpring favouritesCut flowersFor the vasePollinatorsBees and butterfliesHardy annualsAutumn-sow readyEasy to growFirst-time friendlyUnder £2.50Stock up favourites
116 products
Close-up of Chicory Wild by Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden Ltd, showing pale blue blooms on tall green stems, a drought-tolerant British perennial, with blurred greenery and white flowers in the background under a cloudy sky.
Perennial

Chicory Wild

Those impossibly blue stars you see on roadside…

Sow: Mar–May · Sep
£2.20 View
A Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden Ltd Chives raised bed—hardy perennials with edible flowers—is surrounded by herbs and blooms beside a stone house with a wooden gate and gravel path.
Herb Seeds

Chives

Chives earn their place three times over

Sow: Feb–Jun
£1.95 View
Pepper

Citrina Pepper

Most sweet peppers give you one decision to…

Sow: Feb–Mar
£2.49 View
Coriander from Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden Ltd rests on a rustic wooden surface beside a round, pastel plate and a glass container.
Herb Seeds

Coriander

Two harvests, two names, one packet

Sow: Mar–Sep
£1.99 View
Corncockle by Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden Ltd features tall, slender stems with vibrant purple blooms among clusters of daisies and green foliage, set against a partly cloudy rural landscape.
Annual

Corncockle

Large open magenta-pink trumpets with a pale centre…

Sow: Mar–May · Sep–Oct
£2.20 View
Close-up of delicate white Corncockle Bianca flowers by Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden Ltd, featuring thin green stems in a lush garden with more white blooms, greenery, and a few orange flowers in the background.
Annual

Corncockle Bianca

The pure white form of Britain's lost cornfield flower

Sow: Mar–May · Sep
£2.35 View
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Growing flowers as a beginner — your questions answered

I have never grown anything before — where do I start?

Start with cornflowers, calendula, nigella, or cosmos. These are the most forgiving flowers we sell. You can sow them directly into the ground from March onwards, they germinate quickly, and they flower within about ten weeks of sowing. You do not need a greenhouse, special compost, or any expensive equipment. Just prepared soil, water, and a little patience.

What is the most common mistake new gardeners make?

Sowing too early. There is a strong temptation in February to start sowing because it feels like spring is finally arriving — but soil temperature is what matters, not the calendar. Seeds sown into cold soil sit there, rot, and never come up. Wait until March or April, when soil has warmed enough to crumble nicely between your fingers. Your seeds will reward your patience.

Do I need a greenhouse?

No. Many of the most rewarding flowers — cornflowers, calendula, nigella, ammi, cosmos, larkspur — do best when sown directly outside. A sunny windowsill is plenty for the half-hardy types like cosmos and zinnias if you want to start them a few weeks earlier. A greenhouse is a nice-to-have, never a need-to-have.

How quickly can I expect flowers?

For fast annuals like calendula or California poppy, you can have flowers within eight to ten weeks of sowing. Most cottage garden annuals flower from June or July through to the first frosts in October or November. Sweet peas take a little longer to settle in. Biennials like foxgloves and sweet williams flower in their second year — worth the wait but plan accordingly.