A gallery from Mum’s garden today, to show how a plot can be filled -just by growing seeds. Most of the seed packets came free from garden magazines. Our favourites are Amateur Gardening and Garden News. All we needed was some compost and seed trays, and both our gardens are currently overflowing with colour. Everyone knows I am a thrifty gardener. Do you have any money saving tips?

Dahlias grown from seed last year have overwintered in the ground. These are supposed to be annuals, but the mild winters mean we get two years out of the plants.

I love this deep red dahlia, part of a mixed colour packet of seed.

This double white dahlia shines out in a semi-shady spot under some trees.

Morning Glory climbs up through the standard roses and mini fruit trees in Mum’s garden. Great for attracting beneficial pollinators such as bees and butterflies.

We have pale blue and white varieties flowering this year, as well as the usual deep blue ipomoea.

Rudbeckia. We think this is Marmalade. Grown from a mixed variety pack. Bees absolutely love this plant and it flowers until first frosts.

New to us this year, this is Osteospermum Limpopo or African Daisy. This is a lovely mixed white, yellow and apricot pack from Mr Fothergill’s Seeds – free in Amateur Gardening Magazine.

Another Mr Fothergill’s seed, Chrysanthemum Eastern Star, in a range of colours – yellow, white with a yellow centre ring, and lemon. So beautiful, and lasts two weeks in a vase. Our new favourite cut flower and one we will grow again next year.

Mum’s garden looks so sunny with these annual chrysanthemums, sown in the spring and planted out in early summer. We think they will flower until October at least.

Our Thompson and Morgan Zinnia Candy Cane Mixed have been delighting us all summer. Such a fabulous range of colours and sizes. We love the mini flowers in the centre of each bloom. Truly beautiful. This packet came free from Garden News.

Cosmos Seashells make good cutting flowers. We love the intricate petals on these flowers.

More Chrysanths. We’ve never grown such a lovely range of colours before.

Rudbeckias mixed varieties. These often over-winter if the weather is not too severe.

Love this delicate cosmos Seashells. Such a pretty petal shape.

Have you grown any flowers from seed this year? What are your favourites? I hope there’s not too many photos in my gallery. I got rather over excited because Mum has a good internet connection and photos only take seconds to load. Sadly at my house it takes about 15 minutes per photo, and even then it sometimes all disappears before I get the chance to post my news. Sigh.