Plants on the move

I don’t do much in the way of interfering in my garden and as a result plants can move about in unplanned ways that often make lovely combinations.  Some are vegetables, some herbs and others are flowers, but they all flower in their season and look amazing!  All of the pictures below are of plants that put themselves where they are.

Some seeds have arrived from next door including phlox, mallow, sweet Williams and Canterbury bells.

mallow and birds foot trefoil

 

mallow, Canterbury bells and sweet Williams

 

sweet Williams

 

Canterbury bells

Others came from further afield – cowslip, birds foot trefoil, evening primrose and poppy.

The rest I planted and then let them roam – fennel, parsley, marjoram, sweet cicely, carrot, foxglove, burdock, calendula, Californian poppy, few flowered leek, wild garlic, three cornered leek, snowdrop, crocus, pansy, love-in-a-mist, salsify, wild rocket, leaf beet, radish, alpine strawberry and probably more.

salsify flower and seed heads

One of the nice things is that you can see which way the wind blows as over time they have mostly spread up the garden, which is downwind.

Californian poppy with vetch behind with fennel and love in a mist at the back

Other plants are spreading below ground.  Raspberries have appeared on the other side of the hedge and about ten foot along from their original location.  When I attended a forest gardening course with Martin Crawford I remember him saying that raspberries are best if they are allowed to go where they want, so that is what I have done.

Earth nut pea, vetch, Chinese artichoke and Jerusalem artichoke also travel along the bed establishing new clumps.

Of course I also get some of the less popular ‘weeds’ which equally spread by seed – nettle, dandelion, dock and the rest.  I don’t mind that though, they mix in with the rest and in their turn provide valuable functions.  I remove them when they are too large or take the place needed by something else.