Lets Get Growing

Over the last few years I have tried to improve our front and back garden by growing flowers, fruit and vegetables by seed.  So far we have had mixed results but still love the challenge and achievement of being able to look at the things you've grown and know you've nurtured them from seed.  I took great pride in planting sun flower seeds last year with Nye and hoped to be able to show him the plant as it grew.  Unfortunately the gang of slugs and snails that live in our garden scuppered by plans but this year I am determined to win the battle.

Baby Nye's 1st Sunflower Seeds

This month Center Parcs sent all the family bloggers a pack of sunflower seeds to plant to get into the spring vibe.  As the end of the month nears, I have finally got round to planting up my seeds and I am hoping they will have sprouted by the end of the week.  I do love how the seeds discard their outer shell and twist up from the soil.  Sunflowers are actually one of my favourite flowers.  I even had them in my wedding bouquet.

Photography by Danielle Benbow

As I mentioned above I have had mixed results but here is a list of my top 5 plants to grow.  I can assure you  that if I have managed to keep these alive, you can too!  I buy most of my bulbs and seeds at £1 land and have found that they grow well but for more specific varieties (like purple sprouting broccolli) the garden center is probably your best bet.

Seeds starting to grow

1. Sweet Peas (Sow Seeds March - April)
2. Purple Sprouting Broccoli (Sow Seeds March - June)
3. Daffodils (Plant Bulbs October - December)
4. Gladioli (Plant Bulbs March - April)
5. Tomatoes (Sow Seeds March - April)

DISCLOSURE - I am writing this post as part of my role as Center Parcs Family Blogger. To be in with the chance to become one yourself and win a short break to a Center Parcs Village of your choice,  share your gardening experiences on your blog and tweet us a link to it.  You can take a series of pictures of your family sowing seeds or making plant pots or, simply write about the experience and share your gardening tips with other families. Be sure to include the Center Parcs and Tots 100 handles in your tweet, as well as the #CPFamilyBreaks hashtag.

Please find the full terms and conditions for the challenge here, and do make sure to be careful when handling certain plants if you are prone to allergies.

Good Luck!