Cool Flowers are robust, cold-tolerant annual and biennial flowers that are sown or planted not in spring but in the previous autumn or early in the new year. The term was popularised by US-based gardener Lisa Mason Ziegler and refers to a growing method that produces early and abundant flower displays.

What makes Cool Flowers special?

• They germinate and grow in cool temperatures. 
• They can survive frosts (occasionally down to -10°C, depending on the species).
• Compared with spring sowings they flower much earlier and for longer. 

Typical examples are:

• Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus)
• Annual larkspur (Consolida ajacis)
• Corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas)
• Common snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus)
• Wallflower (Erysimum cheiri)

Cool Flowers are especially popular with cut-flower gardeners and home growers who want a sumptuous show of flowers early in the year.