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liKe Dest aDout gar- B <dening with plants of this personality trait is the spontaneity, naturalness and vitality they confer upon my cultivated piece of earth.
In the wild, if you are careful to observe the behavior of ■plants, you will notice that -most wildflowers, for example, even the annual ones, return • in a certain general area year . dfter year. Depending upon ‘ the weather patterns of the previous and present years, -there may be more or less, a relocation to a new but nearby home or in ideal conditions, new satellite colonies in more l far flung places. Inhospitable conditions, such as floods, . droughts, severe cold and ■ human tampering can cause plants to disappear briefly or altogether. All this is true, also, of the cultivated garden yet how many gardeners take advantage of the true fecundity of plants and allow or even encourage volunteers?
Letting nature work with us, in even the simplest of ways such as this example -requires a relaxing of a certain • idea of control and a sharpening of awareness to the minutiae of the garden: cultivating patience, allowing plants to set seed and look a bit frowsy Or being to able to spot and identify the cotyledons and small seedlings of various plants, distinguishing them from weeds. Doing this in part of a vegetable garden will ask that you refrain from tilling that piece or turning over soil too deeply. Isn’t it interesting that one of our disparaging English—language remarks is that something looks “seedy”? ; • Flowers which I plant deliberate colonies of, with the hope of their return (annuals apd biennials) or increase (perennials) are usually the old-fashioned sorts. Herbs '\yith pleasing floral or beneficial attributes are another type of plant I favor for their generosity. Columbine, mallows, foxgloves, forget-menots, poppies, cosmos, centranthus, lamb’s ears, johnnyjump-ups, nicotians and hellebores fall into the former category. German chamomile, Valerian, calendula, echinacea, borage, anise hyssop, dill, cilantro, lemon balm, chervil and lady’s mantle fall into the latter group. ; Tall verbena (verbena honariensis) is a 3’-5’ tall tender perennial which overwinters in my garden as well as lowing itself about freely. With its vivid purple flowers, butterfly-feeding service, seethrough form and ability to pair well visually with almost any other plant, it is an attractive garden regular. Linaria, a short-lived perennial and more refined version of comJnon toadflax, comes in pink, lavender and (rarely) white, a • 2'-3’ vertical flower spire and ■ small, needle shaped greygreen foliage recommend this pld-fashioned lovely as a great
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