One of our best-loved and easily-grown hardy annuals. It has a variety of common names, including English marigold, pot marigold and scotch marigold. It is however, unrelated to Marigolds (Tagetes); African and French. It is a ‘must’ in cottage gardens and other informal settings, where the richly coloured flowers are attractive to so many beneficial insects. Interestingly flowers and leaves are edible and can be added to salads.

How to Sow and Grow Calendulas
Calendulas will tolerate a lot of different conditions, but full sun or partial shade is ideal and soil should be moist but well-drained.

Sow outdoors, where they are to flower, 0.5cm(1/4in) deep, directly into finely prepared soil which has already been watered. Seedlings usually appear in 7-21 days. Thin seedlings to 23cm(9in) apart. For a continuous display, make sowings at two to three weekly intervals. Water well until plants are established. Late summer and autumn sowings will flower the following year.