Sowing of sunflower seeds, for example, can be carried out at 7 to 8 °C soil temperature in plant pots, or also directly in the flower bed. Here, the distance between plants should be approx. 50 cm. The seeds must be planted 4 to 6 cm deep in the soil. After a few weeks they start to germinate. Generally, with good care, strong plants grow from them. Depending on the variety, sunflowers blossom between July and October. If you want to use the sunflower seeds of a particularly beautiful specimen for sowing again the next year, you should hang a net over the disk floret in time. Only then are the sunflower seeds protected from birds. After the flowers have lost their petals, the seeds can be removed from the flowers and stored for the next year.
As another example, the marigold is also uncomplicated and easy to care for. It can also be sown in March, together with the sunflower and other annual flowers. The hook-shaped seeds are covered with approximately two centimetres of soil and watered well. Depending on the temperature, the seeds germinate very quickly, usually after about a week. Within a few weeks, strong plants grow from the seedlings. As soon as they have reached a certain size, they form buds and begin to flower. From June onwards, the bright orange marigolds bloom in many gardens. In late summer, some of the withered inflorescences can be left so that they form seeds. As soon as the seeds are brown, they can be harvested and saved for the next year.