Wonderful Interweavings

My candy lilies (Pardancanda) with self sown Agastache

Day 26
The Daily DuBrule


I am a cottage gardener at heart. I think I get more joy from unexpected combinations in the garden than the ones that I plan. They never stop surprising me, how perfect they can be, on their own, without my help. 


The trick to embracing self sown plants is knowing when to thin the herd. Plants like anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium), and plume poppy (Maclaeya cordata) can easily overtake an orderly garden and out-compete plants that you really want to grow and thrive. Yet, allowing some moderate self seeding and keeping an eye on the result can create a very interesting, much softer looking garden.

Iris ensata 'Gusto' with an unknown white daisy. Anyone recognize this self sown beauty?

When I first started my raised be vegetable gardens, a soft and airy white daisy appeared. Growing about 3 ft. tall and blooming all summer long, I let it grow because it was pretty and it filled in a lot of empty space that I hadn't had time to plant yet. Now that I know what it does, I purposely thin it out when I see it and only allow it where it will fit in without being too greedy.

The perfect low maintenance interweaving- vigorous Siberian irises underplant and intertwine with a variegated redtwig dogwood.

One of the most vigorous self sown perennials in my gardens is feverfew. I have to admit, I love this plant. It makes a great cut flower, always available to me, an excellent filler in any arrangement. It grows in my hot, sunny courtyard and in the shade. I let it seed into my wild and wet shrub border where the aromatic foliage helps to throw off the noses of the deer. Naturally, this is a REALLY heavy self sower and I have to be vigilant in the spring that it doesn't take over the landscape. It's easy to spot; if you miss it, you will smell the pungent foliage as you are feeding, weeding, and mulching.

I LOVE this! Feverfew seeded in amongst the branches of Physocarpus 'Centerglow'.

Maclaeya seeded next to Physocarpus 'Center Glow'

Not everyone can garden like this. To some folks, these plants are a nuisance to be eliminated from their orderly gardens. Not me. I find the combinations that they create an inspiration. As I continue to grow as a gardener and a designer, I will use these wonderful interweavings to make magic in the garden.