A rainbow in weeks. Masses of tiny snapdragon flowers barely a centimetre across, in cream, yellow, pink, rose, magenta, purple and white, many with contrasting throats, all on slim wiry stems above narrow grey-green leaves.
It is the fastest hardy annual you can sow — eight to ten weeks from seed to a full flush of colour — which makes it the one to give a child or a beginner. Nothing builds confidence like a packet that delivers that quickly.
At 25 to 35cm it forms tidy mounds that suit the front of a border, a window box, a container, or a crack between paving. Grow it lean; rich ground gives you leaf and fewer flowers. Shear it back by half when the first flush fades and it will come again into autumn.
