Self seeding land grab
The_herpetologist
Posts: 481
One of my garden projects for next year is to set aside an area of my garden to self seeders and let nature take its course. I like the idea of having an unruly bit of my garden over which I exert little control over what comes up and how it looks, other than selecting the seeds to sow in spring. After some research, I’ve bought the following seeds:
Borage
Aguilegia
Verbena
Californian poppy
Crimson clover
Honesty
Oxeye daisies
Foxgloves
Forget-me-nots
Bronze fennel
A couple of questions though. Obviously, although I am committed to a largely hands-off approach, I would like to achieve a balance and variety of plants and was wondering whether it might be the case that over time one of these might come to dominate in a thuggish way, and secondly, whether anyone has any ideas of other self seeders to add to my list?
Last edited: 12 November 2017 08:46:46
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You'll probably need to pull up forget me nots each year and maybe reign in the clover now and then because they can smother the others. I find foxgloves and ox-eye daisies just get on with it and turn up in places the others don't want to be. aquilegia need a bit of a gap to get a foothold, but as they are perennial once they get in, they spread out from their 'base camp' successfully.
I'd include some native primroses for early flowers, and you could have a few jerusalem artichokes - not strictly self seeders but very persistent - tall and very late flowering - to extend the season at both ends. Teasel is a good one for the finches and also tall with a good winter structure.
Opium poppies maybe for a touch of glamour
Last edited: 12 November 2017 09:57:23
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Forget me nots self seed all over my garden. I tend to leave them and then pull them out when they are finished/mildewed/I am fed up with them. Ox eye daisies are a thug on my clay bit. They grow six feet tall, splay, cover other stuff, and I have to cut them down severely. Wild flowers tend to like poor soil. Skim off turf or topsoil if ypu can before planting. My wild flower meadow does need attention fairly regularly. I grow back up stuff in plugs and drop in to gaps.
If you have some dry patches, with free draining soil, you could try Lychnis Coronaria, the rose campion. No staking needed and left alone, will flower continuously.
I have Welsh poppies and love them, never know where they will pop up next. They are perennial but not enormous plants and can easily be weeded out when small. I have lemon yellow and orange ones and some that are more golden yellow with an orangey flush where the bees have mixed things up
I.like feverfew too, it makes little mini bushes covered with flowers that really set off other things. It will try to come back a second year but is never as good, so I pull old ones out.
You might like a couple of the annual grasses, like bunny tails or Ponytail grass (Stipa tenuissima). I have the second one and it seeds itself around but is pretty and easily moved if in the wrong place. Going to try the bunnies next year
Geranium pratense has pretty blue flowers and seeds itself in my meadow area. Perennial, but quite an airy plant for a geranium, just cut it back before it seeds if you have enough.
Some more biennials to consider are Verbascums and Evening primroses (Oenothera). I had a V.olympicum grow from some mixed seeds and it was really exciting to watch it develop. Mine didn't manage to leave me any seedlings though, not its ideal conditions here.
Lots of things will seed themselves if happy and the ones that dominate will be ones that are best suited to your conditions. My campanulas self seed, persicifolia is quite polite, but lactiflora is a thug and not just because it is a big plant, but there are loads of seeds too. My primroses and wood anemones have self seeded in my woodlandy bit.
Calendula and nasturtium are colourfully cheery and you can eat the petals if you feel so inclined. They flower for months on end. Valerian is showy but the flowers don't last so long. I have some poppies that arrived out of nowhere, they have pink flowers the size of tennis balls and as dense as cabbages. Don't know their name but I can let you have some. Before you spend any more money, have a look at the seed swap thread.
Last edited: 12 November 2017 13:37:35
I know some people will disagree, but euphorbia is a wonderful foil for spring and summer flowers.
I agree
euphorbia wulfenii with newly emerging foxgloves and alliums
few weeks later with the foxgloves in full flower and the alliums beginning to go over
and later again (from the other direction) with agapanthus and verbena bonariensis behind and the seed heads of the alliums still standing
I have a lot of wild and semi-wild flowers in my garden and euphorbia is one of the plants I have used in a few places as a place holder for these plants because they each only shine for a few weeks in the year.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Lovely, raisingirl!
Yes, that is a lovely patch of flowers their raisingirl and I imagine that the birds love all those seed heads, once they have finished flowering.
I would add a few Teasel plants, their structure is quite magnificent, they are easy to grow and provide a wealth of seeds for the gold finches in the Autumn. We grew Honesty and honestly it would have like to take over the garden, they are prolific seeders.
raisingirl
Your garden looks very nice and obviously lovingly maintained !