Self-seeding plants 'a gardening gift'

18:01 5th June 2008

Self-seeding plants are "a gift" to horticultural enthusiasts, it has been suggested.

Industry commentator Elspeth Thomson makes her comments in the online pages of the Telegraph, stating that such flora can often spring up at the perfect time to fill in gaps in flower beds.

She suggests that on too often an occasion, an overzealous gardener will "hoe or mulch them into oblivion", when instead they should take advantage of the free flora that nature provides them with.

"Why not make the most of this bounty on our doorsteps?" she questions, noting that many varieties of plant - such as opium poppies, valerian, honesty, cerinthes and violas - self-sow with great generosity.

She also identifies giant thistles and mulleins as "dramatic" self-seeded additions to green spaces.

In related news, sector commentator Emma Townshend recently wrote in the online pages of the Independent that gaps in flower beds and borders can be effectively filled with flora including sweet peas, allium and fuchsias.