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    Six self-seeders on a Saturday


    August 19th, 2017 - cottage garden plants

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    This week I was in Rutland for two days and took photos of some authentic cottage gardens, but not so much the gardens as the road verges in front of the cottages where plants had self-seeded and created a lovely natural jumble in the tiny space between the wall and the pavement.

    Here are some examples, and they show how some plants will take their chance to thrive in the poorest of soils and in places which may not even be gardened by anyone.

    cottage garden valerian

    Valerian growing in poor soil

    This plant above is called valerian and pretty much grows out of walls, in either red, pink or white.  It grows in very poor soil and in my garden with very rich soil it struggles to stay upright because the growth is too lush and floppy.  When it is neglected it thrives and here it is growing in the tiny space between the house walls and the pavement.

    cottage garden plants

    The pink valerian and the green front door create a cottage look

    Here below there are two wonderful simple little plants which have taken their chance to spread.  The spiky one is a euphorbia and the lower one is a hypericum (St John’s Wort).  Both are quite common but I think they look lovely spreading around this bit of paving in front of a cottage between the wall and the street.

     

    self-seeded cottage garden plants

    Euphorbia and hypericum

    These daisies were coming through the pavement presumably from a tiny crack where some soil had landed and their seed had found it.

    cottage garden self-seeding plants

    In a tiny crack a seed will plant itself and flourish

     

    Here we have some kind of thistle and again some valerian hugging the wall creating a lovely natural soft planting area where perhaps no one had thought to consciously create a garden.

    cottage garden self seeded plants

    Self-seeded planting creating a lovely soft boundary between the wall and the pavement

     

    Here is a hardy geranium of some variety growing out of a wall -they are such just great plants.

    hardy geranium macrorrhizum

    A hardy geranium, possibly macrorrhizum, growing out of a wall

     

    Here a pelargonium and some creeping Jenny are sprouting through a crack in the pavement.

    pelargonium and creeping Jenny

    Pelargonium and creeping Jenny in a tiny spot of soil

    All this naturally occurring planting reminds me, when I am getting too fretful about gardening, that some easy common plants will always find a place to thrive and look lovely for people who can appreciate the simplicity of them.  Of course this also means that unwanted weeds can do this too but nature does not differentiate between wanted and unwanted – only we gardeners do that.

    Lastly here is a great example of the mixed jumble you can achieve in a tiny strip of soil between a sunny old wall and the street – a real cottage garden scene.

    cottage garden planting

    A lovely front garden

    This blog is part of a meme called Six on a Saturday which you can see more of here

    https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/

     

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    12 comments on "Six self-seeders on a Saturday"

    1. Candy says:
      19th August 2017 at 4:37 pm

      Yes, nice. I have a patch of grass (can’t really call it lawn anymore) in which I am going to let nature take its course. I have planted acanthus and will add some valerian – your post reminds me it is very forgiving, and tough!

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        19th August 2017 at 4:40 pm

        Thanks Candy, acanthus is a beast of a thing. I once piled bricks on top of it to get rid of it but it came up through the gaps and around the bricks!

        Reply
    2. David Simpson says:
      19th August 2017 at 4:37 pm

      Lovely Julie. What a treat to see such authentic cottage gardens.

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        19th August 2017 at 4:39 pm

        Thankyou very much – gosh that was quick!

        Reply
    3. Cerstin says:
      19th August 2017 at 4:40 pm

      Great pictures. Fab inspiration. Hope to have my own garden soon.

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        19th August 2017 at 4:42 pm

        Hello Certain, I do hope you have a patch of garden soon as France is such a lovely place to have a garden, all the best, Julie

        Reply
    4. Anne Chamberlain says:
      20th August 2017 at 8:21 am

      Lovely pictures and clever thinking

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        20th August 2017 at 11:50 am

        Thanks pal. X

        Reply
    5. Paul Ritchie says:
      20th August 2017 at 10:29 pm

      Great images and always good to encourage gardeners attention to those naturally resilient and successful plants that self-seed in the most challenging places. I think you’ll find the type of thistle referred to in fifth picture is in fact Black Knapweed (Centaura nigra), which is a popular perennial with pollinators such as bumblebees, solitary bees and butterflies.

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        21st August 2017 at 7:14 am

        Thankyou for your encouraging comment and for naming that plant – how great that a plant good for wildlife decides to colonise sunny places.

        Reply
    6. Michelle says:
      26th August 2017 at 8:57 am

      Great post Julie, I love how magical nature is! I’ve really enjoyed the valarian this year.

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        26th August 2017 at 10:09 am

        Thankyou Michelle – have a lovely weekend.

        Reply

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