Tall Dreamy Spires

Very little of my garden is in full sun and generally I struggle to get delphiniums to flower well but for some reason this year, despite it being so cold and wet for so long, they're the best they've ever been.

The bees have been loving them today as well.

The bees have also been loving the foxgloves.

All my foxgloves are self sown digitalis purpurea and come in the usual variety of pinks, purples and whites but for the first time ever I've got a pure pale lemon one too.

And also this one that looks rather scraggly as a plant

but has the most amazing, very narrow and delicate white trumpets.  I've never seen another foxglove like it before.

I'm hoping it will set lots of seeds for me to scatter about, maybe it might even cross with the lemon one!

Foxy Ladies

There are certain flowers that a garden has to have in my opinion and foxgloves are one of them.  When I moved here I brought some seeds with me that I'd saved the previous year in my old garden.  Today the sun came out and those foxy ladies were zinging in the warmth.

Some are quite dark, with very dark stems

Some are pink with a paler pink speckled throat

Some are pink with a yellow speckled throat

And some are a total pure white, no speckles at all.

They're all self sown from those seeds I scattered 4 years ago - a lovely assortment of colours.

Essential plants in my cottage garden - I wonder what plants you have to have in your gardens?