Thank you for the advice @Fairygirl - I haven't planted any this year, but I will be sure to pot them up next year like you say.
You know how hard it is to get anything to grow where I am, so there are certain parts of the garden I am just leaving to see what pops up - the foxgloves have actually come up in my border rather than in the areas I have left (which are more just grassy areas) which is a slight shame, however I have had an aquilegia slowly spreading over the last couple of years!
It's not a bad idea to just browse the seed catalogues [well... I say it's not a bad idea.. ] and that can give you some ideas of what to try. Aquilegias will certainly seed, although they don't always come true, but they're tough, so they'd certainly work well for you. Some of the white foxgloves stay true, and they're great for shady spots. People might worry about having things like cow parsley seeding in their garden, but it's a fabulous plant in the right place, even in a small space. I've collected some seed from round the verges, and have a couple of plants among shrubs etc. It's a good foil to green or plum foliage. Easy to pull out if it gets above itself. You could try Ammi as an alternative to that, which is quite easy from seed. Flowers a bit later than the cow parsley. There's several varieties. The foxgloves and nigella would work with that too. Seeing what works locally is the best solution, and creating little sheltered pockets with shrubs etc, so that other plants can thrive, is the best solution in trickier locations.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thank you for all the advice; I must try a bit harder with the garden ready for next year - had a busy winter of decorating the house so the garden took a back seat unfortunately!
I know the feeling @aidanhoad. I only realised how low maintenance my garden was when I retired. Now that I have more time, I'm experimenting a little more
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
It's also my first year growing foxgloves. I have a patch of shady area in the garden so I just bought a packet of mixed foxglove seeds and sowed a bunch last year. They've come up amazingly now, despite a lot of holes on the bottom leaves (maybe from slugs)....
Now I wonder, if I want to have a similar display next year, do I need to sow more seeds this year? Or let them self-seed? I know they are biennials but not quite sure how that works, as my seeds sown last year have flowered this year?
@msqingxiao - re biennials, it works exactly as you experienced. You sow seeds, they start to grow this year and you get flowers the next year. This year's flowers will drop seeds that will give you next year's flowers.
@msqingxiao - re biennials, it works exactly as you experienced. You sow seeds, they start to grow this year and you get flowers the next year. This year's flowers will drop seeds that will give you next year's flowers.
Thanks! Though I also read somewhere else that to have them every year you'll need to do two consecutive years' sowing? Or is it as you explained, I sowed last year and have flowers now this year, and the seeds from the flowers this year will flower next year? So actually I only need to sow one batch?
Correct, if they seed. Just like forget-me-nots (also biennials) - sow them once, they flower early the next year, then drop seeds which quickly germinate and grow through the summer of the same year and flower the next spring. You get flowers every year, always from brand new plants.
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You know how hard it is to get anything to grow where I am, so there are certain parts of the garden I am just leaving to see what pops up - the foxgloves have actually come up in my border rather than in the areas I have left (which are more just grassy areas) which is a slight shame, however I have had an aquilegia slowly spreading over the last couple of years!
People might worry about having things like cow parsley seeding in their garden, but it's a fabulous plant in the right place, even in a small space. I've collected some seed from round the verges, and have a couple of plants among shrubs etc. It's a good foil to green or plum foliage. Easy to pull out if it gets above itself. You could try Ammi as an alternative to that, which is quite easy from seed. Flowers a bit later than the cow parsley. There's several varieties. The foxgloves and nigella would work with that too.
Seeing what works locally is the best solution, and creating little sheltered pockets with shrubs etc, so that other plants can thrive, is the best solution in trickier locations.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Now I wonder, if I want to have a similar display next year, do I need to sow more seeds this year? Or let them self-seed? I know they are biennials but not quite sure how that works, as my seeds sown last year have flowered this year?
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border