self-seeders

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August 2025

As we approach the end of summer, I am attempting to review some of my pots and I was thinking of the self-seeders in them. I did the same at the beginning of the season as well - basically I am always overwhelmed with self-seeders! Thinking about it, most of my garden was self-seeders this year:

Spring

beaked hawk's-beard  my garden had aboout 20 of these plants, attractive to bees

dandelions

evening primrose  although a few of these are nice, I would have way too many if I did not remove a lot of seedlings, they seem to self-seed everywhere

forget-me-not  I had a lot more of these in my last garden. In early spring, before other flowers are in bloom, they are very attractive. Easy to  remove the spent plants after they've finished flowering

moth mullein (Verbascum blattaria)  I started with 1 packet of seeds years ago and now have them all over my garden - BUT not a problem as the bees love them and they will grow anywhere and be attractive flowers with no effort.

ragwort  I allow a few plants to grow and bloom for insects but that allows them to self-seed like mad so I need to remove lots and lots of seedlings.

red campion  I only got these in a wildflower mix last year? and this year they covered my garden. It was ok as attractive and lots of bee visits and they died back in time for other flowers. 

scabious  I love scabious so not a problem but not sure how many plants to keep and where to put them. 

selfheal  I had more last year as they went mad and I removed a few so fewer this year, maybe not enough, won't be so strict with removal in future unless they get out of hand.

Summer

common hogweed  a few nice plants this year (visited by bees), last year badly affected by a fungal infection so no flowers.

guizotia  I have about 6 plants as of end of August and buds on some of them

purple loosestrife  I had to leave my large plants behind when I moved so pleased the small plants I brought with me grew well and self-seeded so ended up with at least one large plant alive with bees. Lots have self-seeded as well, including in the cracks of my patio.

small teasel  very popular with bees this summer

teasel  lots of plants this year

blue vervain (Verbena hastata)  very enthusiastic self-seeder, blooming and visited by bees

And there are the one-off plants such as chicory which came out of nowhere and was fantastic - covered with flowers and visited by bees and hoverflies.

a small sunflower self-seeded

This Acanthus spinosus pot has been overwhelmed with self-seeders. I want to save the plant and while I was doing it, thought I'd see what's there. I pulled out 8 evening primrose, 8 ragwort, 20 forget-me-nots and 10 dandelions. Ordinarily I try to save dandelions but in this pot, saving the acanthus is more important and I have more dandelions elsewhere.

after all those self-seeders were removed