A tiny, cream-flowered foxglove peers out round the corner of the fence by the dustbins.
It’s a self sown plant, rooted in a paving crack, sprouted from a dust fine wind-blown seed.
Self-sown plants may be a welcome addition to a garden or little more than weeds, depending on plant, place and gardener. Where self-sown plants are welcomed and managed with a light touch they can give both a sense of permanence and an air of spontaneity, an enviable combination that some Chelsea Flower Show gardens (above) recreate with great care.
The huge purple poppies which sprouted unexpectedly in my new garden last year were a startling contrast to the deliberately sown yellow marigolds.
I modified my plans to accommodate the tall and beautiful poppies, only to find that in this year’s dry conditions they are half the size and rather weedy. By contrast the self-sown seedlings from a few ox-eye daisies I planted last year have relished the warm summer and grown enormous. I transplanted dozens of seedlings to new positions, spreading them round the garden; in future my role may be to keep them in check rather than to encourage them. In the real world the perfect balance of spontaneity and permanence takes time to achieve.
(Click on any image for a closer view)
July 6, 2018 at 9:17 am
That looks wonderful, that garden does. And I’ve always left determined foxgloves to have their way. I admire their spirit!
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July 6, 2018 at 9:57 am
Me too, though the next door neighbour warns me that the foxgloves will take over given half a chance!
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July 6, 2018 at 10:05 am
I love it how it’s peaking out. 🙂 If I’m not mistaken, we found a self-sown foxglove growing on my grandparents’ grave just this week. At least it was suggested in the comments that it was one. Alas, it had to go. Have a look: https://manjameximovie3.wordpress.com/2018/07/01/happy-birthday-dedek/
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July 6, 2018 at 11:24 am
Yes, a foxglove indeed. Sadly if you’d left it some other cemetery visitors might have thought your grandparents were being neglected.
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July 6, 2018 at 11:30 am
Yes, I think this is the reason why mom decided to pluck it. In Slovenia “what others might think” carries a lot of weight. 🙂
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July 6, 2018 at 11:49 pm
Not only in Slovenia. My grandma’s refrain to anything out of the ordinary was ‘what would the neighbours think’!
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July 6, 2018 at 11:55 pm
Exactly! 😮 Well, I feel calmer now that it’s more widespread than I’d thought. 😉
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July 6, 2018 at 10:15 am
I do like the foxgloves, poppies and other self-seeders when they appear. They can crop up in the most strangest places, but they can be very beautiful and add extra interest to the garden.
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July 6, 2018 at 11:25 am
Self-seeders often establish themselves in places where it would be impossible to plant them.
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July 6, 2018 at 1:32 pm
Wonderful garden! 🙂
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April 30, 2019 at 2:12 pm
That peeking foxglove is really cute.
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