One sign a garden is becoming mature is when plants start reproducing themselves. This is different from multiplying plants by the well loved techniques of splitting, or taking cuttings: we're talking here about plants reproducing randomly, the way nature intended.
When we first came here we planted lots of geraniums. They were all carefully labelled, but labels disappear only too easily, so what we have now is a steadily increasing crop of spontaneous G. endressii seedlings - all slightly different, all pretty variations on pink flowers, all super for suppressing weeds!
These are some random examples.
Rewards come to the gardener who looks down, and is not too efficient at weeding! We like Aesculus ('conkers' to you!), but shy away from the sheer size of the native Horse Chestnut tree.
Fortunately there are plenty of smaller species, offering manageable size, accessible flowers to admire, and glowing yellow autumn leaf colour. Here is Aesculus indica 'Sydney Pearce', a Himalayan hybrid from Kew Gardens, with pretty peach flowers very popular with insects. (Excuse the poor photo - weather!)
And excitingly - for the first time ever, the next generation! - a seedling spotted in march by its red spring foliage, and carefully marked pending being lifted to put in a pot to grow on.
When a plant is a named variety, the chances are that seedlings won't be exactly the same. We get lots of random oak seedlings around the garden, but I'm keeping a close eye on this one, which seems 'different'. It is growing at the foot of a very interesting selection of English oak, a slow-growing narrow form (4m high, 50cm wide!) named after the Hungarian city where it was found: Quercus robur 'Gyor'.
It could be that this seedling reflects the character of its parent, which would be exciting. Again this will be lifted and put in a pot. Will it be special? Only time will tell!
....but you don't just find unexpected seedlings in the garden! A couple of weeks ago I spent an afternoon cleaning a neglected greenhouse, and found NINE ferns growing under the staging! Now that's what I call a good afternoon's work! What have you found in your garden?
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