Everyone loves the gorgeous scented blooms from the cottage garden classic that is the sweet pea.

But did you know autumn sown sweet peas provide larger, earlier plants with stronger root system, which means bigger flowers with long stems?

The argument for popping a few seeds in now is a good one.

Sow 1cm deep, in pots filled with multipurpose compost that are at least 10cm deep.

Once leaves appear move the seedlings to a cold frame to encourage root growth. Exposure to some short cold snaps will do them no harm.

Plant out in spring after the risk of frost has passed, direct into the ground or into containers with plenty of fertiliser, ideally blood, fish & bone, added.

If you pre-soak the hard seeds overnight before planting it will aid germination.

Varieties to try are Daily Mail, which has cerise pink flowers and a good scent. This is an excellent performer. For chocolate maroon flowers try Windsor a lovely scent and looks great set against white sweet peas.

While if a beautiful mid-blue flower is to your liking try Just Julia for great reliability.

Wallflowers

I always think the bundles of wallflowers you see in garden centres look rather straggly, but this is how they are sold and they will soon pick up when you get these young plants in the ground, ready to reward you with flowers next April/May.

They like good drainage and they will suffer if they have to sit in wet ground. If in doubt add some grit to the ground when planting.

Pinch out the growing tips when planting to create bushier plants. No fertiliser is needed and they work well when teamed together with tulips.