Sweet Pea

French marigolds are the workhorses of companion planting — their pungent scent confuses pests and their roots release chemicals that suppress soil nematodes. They're particularly effective planted alongside tomatoes, peppers, and brassicas. Beyond pest control, they're genuinely beautiful, producing a non-stop display of orange, yellow, and red blooms from June until the first hard frost. They're among the easiest flowers to grow from seed, germinating quickly and flowering within 8 weeks of sowing. Deadhead regularly to keep the display going. In the allotment context, scatter them generously between vegetable rows — they attract hoverflies whose larvae devour aphids. The flowers are also edible, adding colour to salads.

Daffodils are the quintessential spring flower in Britain, carpeting woodland edges, roadside verges, and garden borders with golden yellow from February to April. They're incredibly easy to grow — plant bulbs in autumn, pointed end up, and they'll flower reliably for years with almost no care. They naturalise brilliantly in grass, creating meadow-like drifts that improve year on year. The key rule is never to cut back the foliage after flowering until it has yellowed naturally (at least six weeks) — the leaves are photosynthesising to recharge the bulb for next year's flowers. 'King Alfred' types give large trumpet flowers; 'Tête-à-Tête' is a compact miniature perfect for pots and borders. Daffodils are toxic to rodents and deer, so they're left alone where other bulbs get dug up. They're also poisonous to cats and dogs, so take care in gardens with pets.

Sunflowers are the flowers that children grow and adults never tire of — their cheerful, towering presence lifts any garden. Giant varieties like 'Russian Giant' can reach 3 metres or more, turning any allotment into a dramatic backdrop. For cut flowers, try multi-headed varieties like 'Velvet Queen' (deep burgundy) or 'Lemon Queen' (pale yellow). Sow seeds directly where they're to grow from late April — they germinate quickly and grow at an astonishing rate. In exposed positions, stake tall varieties to prevent wind damage. The seed heads provide valuable food for goldfinches and other birds in autumn — leave them standing rather than cutting them down. Sunflowers also have practical uses on the allotment: they can act as living supports for climbing beans, their deep roots improve soil structure, and they attract pollinators to your plot. Slugs can destroy seedlings, so protect them until they're large enough to withstand nibbling.

Nasturtiums are the allotment grower's best friend — effortlessly easy to grow, brilliantly coloured, and with multiple practical uses. They're a 'trap crop' for blackfly: aphids prefer nasturtiums to your beans and brassicas, concentrating the pests where they can be managed or sacrificed. Both the flowers and the young leaves are peppery and edible, excellent in salads. The unripe seed pods can even be pickled in vinegar as 'poor man's capers'. Sow seeds directly from late April — they grow in any soil and actively produce more flowers in poor, unfertilised ground. Rich soil produces lots of leaves but fewer flowers. Trailing varieties cascade beautifully over edges and out of containers; climbing varieties will scramble up supports to 2 metres. 'Empress of India' has dark foliage and rich scarlet flowers; 'Alaska' has cream-splashed variegated leaves. They self-seed freely in mild areas.