Self-seeders - friend or foe?

One of the many small joys of gardening is to discover that a treasured plant has set seed and produced a baby without any of your intervention. Some plants are so successful at self-seeding that they can become a nuisance, but I'm a firm believer that one person's invasive plant is another's good do'er. Let me share my experience with you and you can decide.

 Campanula latifolia (giant bellflower) forms tidy rosettes of narrow leaves and produces tall, thin spires of white, or sometimes blue, bell-shaped flowers. It like full sun or part shade, and slots in neatly between other plants. A very useful and pretty self-seeder. 

How to use variegated foliage

Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of variegated foliage. If you dislike it, or are a bit unsure about how to use it in your garden, hopefully by the end of this post I will have converted you or at least encouraged you to give it a try.

Variegated hosta leaves.

Antipodean inspiration

What a treat to be able to escape from the dreary winter weather while the garden is still mostly dormant and take inspiration from gardens on the other side of the planet. During a trip to visit family and friends in New Zealand and Australia we found time to visit a few gardens and to marvel at plants growing wild in the bush that we have to nurture and coddle in this country.

Spherical flowerheads of Agapanthus on a sunny bank contrast with the stiff, tapered leaves of Phormium (New Zealand flax).