June blues, head jumping and self seeders

There are some months in which the days pass in a blur of joy and excitement.  I think we can safely say June was not that kind of a month for me.

Not to say that there were moments of blur, but mostly this was of the stress-flavoured, brain-aching variety. 

As a result I have been neglectful - of my children, my blog and, inevitably, my garden. Sadly, this is often the fate of a family garden.  As much as you may wish to be out there beautifying your patch, there is always something more pressing (often a child's hands, either side of your head, as they scream in your face "but you promised we could make cakes/get out the paddling pool/jump up and down on your head until you surrender!" - delete as appropriate).

I suppose there are different ways of coping with this lack of garden time.  Some go for minimalism with a lawn and almost nothing else.  Others decide to plant the sort of indestructible, low maintenance shrubs beloved of supermarket car parks. I have gone a different route.  I've delegated the planting to the plants.

Yes, walking around this week I have realised that there are huge number of plants that I have never placed - they simply arrived there one day. And to me this is the perfect way to plant a family garden. The plants are free and plentiful which means that you don't need to wince every time they get hit by a ball or tramped through by the kids.  They've already told you they suit the site and soil because they've chosen to grow there and, because they put down roots directly into the soil, you've no need to worry about settling or watering them in after planting.

So I thought I would share with you some of my favourite self seeders:

Digitalis purpurea (Foxglove) - yes, OK, so there's the whole 'isn't it poisonous?' thing but as this should really only be an issue if my children sit down to foxglove sandwiches I've decided this is an acceptable risk (although as Archie decided this week to snack on cat food, I might need to reassess)

Verbena bonariensis - a floating haze of purple that works just as well at the front as it does at the rear of a bed.     

Alchemilla mollis (Lady's mantle) - frothy yellow/green flowers and a magical way of holding water on its leaves (self sows best into a gravel garden)

Euphorbia characias 'Wulfenii' - this has milky white sap which is a skin irritant but I blithely ignore this fact because it also happens to be one of my favourte plants and I have to say the 'plants or children' question is vaguely reminiscent of the 'Daddy or chips' debate.

Viola labradorica 'Purpurea' (Dog Violet) - tiny blue flowers and sultry purple foliage in the spring.  Also, makes very useful groundcover for a shady border.

Centaurea cyanus (Cornflower) - looks great alongside other wildflowers but equally good in a blue border.

Nigella damascena (Love-in-a-mist) - wins the prize for weirdest looking seed-pods but also lovely cornflower-esque blooms in early summer.

Hesperis matronalis - supposedly this phlox-like flower also comes in purples and pinks but I only seem to get the white version.  Not that I'm complaining - it flowers for weeks and sets seed in a relatively contained way.

Aquilegia vulgaris - on the self-seeding front it border on the over-prolific, but there is nothing lovelier than a sea of aquilegia seedlings with their distinctive leaves - plus they provide a range of blue and pink blooms throughout spring which also work brilliantly as cut flowers.

Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) - at least I think this is what I have (it's really very inconsiderate of plants to arrive in the garden without labelling themselves)

Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) - This is supposed to be on the 'highly invasive' side but personally I have found it spreads in a terribly polite manner and its daisy like flowers are very popular with the "we like flowers to look like flowers' brigade (AKA the kids).

Papaver somniferum - these are as often catagorised as weeds as much as wildflowers but the children love them (let's not get into that whole poisoning the kids argument again right now) so we shake seedheads all over their gardens.

 

Having just reread this list I realise my garden looks like it was designed by Lucrezia Borgia.

Comments

[Damo]

Self-seeders are great aren't they, this year I'm overrun with cornflowers, pot marigolds, aquilegia and red o'rache. If they're not where I want they get chopped by the hoe, couldn't be easier!

[Steverhudson]

Hi

Would you tell me what is the plant at the top of column 3 - DSC 0038 - called. It's in my garden but I don't know what it is.

Thanks

Steve

[Dawn]

Damo - You're right - it's a doddle (provided you get round to a bit of hoeing which I don't always manage)

Steve - that's the purple loosestrife (I think!)

[Flowering Pear]

This is the perfect way to plant a family garden, i like it..
Thanks for sharing...

[Dawn]

Flowering Pear - *bows low* you are most welcome.

[elizabethm]

I have all of these, some of them in ludicrous quantities and I don't even have small children as an excuse/reason. They are all lovely plants and so much of what I might buy would die up here. Seems daft not to listen to plants telling you what they like!

[Dawn]

Elizabeth - You are so right - I'm not sure why so many gardeners seem to fight against self seeders.

[Fake grass]

Modern garden design has changed dramatically over the years. Minimalist aspects can make the garden into a great space for living and entertaining, focusing on materials rather than planting. You can party and relax in a minimalist garden with great ease and it is very simple to look after. On the other hand, to save water and less maintenance, I installed a fake grass lawn for a more sophisticated look.