Self Seeders: a laid back gardener's first love

Come Spring and I have surprises springing up everywhere. The self seeding beauties of my garden have started to show up and the thrill of finding these nature’s surprises cannot be compared with the planned landscaping we indulge in. Verbenas, Larkspur, Poppies, and Nasturtiums are the no fuss variety which crop up from time to time in my garden. Nasturtiums and Poppies show the most prolific growth. I read in some blogs about the use of Nasturtiums in salads; haven’t really tried it, but if my taste buds like it then I have a colorful salad component ready every year. Poppies also keep springing up here there and everywhere. Things sometimes reach epidemic proportions when I am forced to cull some of the plants. Larkspur or Delphinium is another one, less prolific, but very appealing. Its lovely violet color is a treat to the eyes and that it grows without putting in any effort is an icing on the cake. Verbenas, white and purple, started growing since a couple of weeks. It was around 3 years back that I got this plant from a friends’ house. Since then I never had to bother again about storing the seeds or keeping the cuttings, they have been growing year after year The most prolific of all these self seeders are Marguerite Daisies which reward me with beautiful white and yellow flowers every spring and that too with minimal effort. We select, sow, nurture and grow so many plants; trying to include the most remarkable ones in our collection, yet it is the natural landscapes which appeal the most to the eye, and these self seeding plants have a huge role in creating these vast expanses of natural wonders.