Captivating and compact foxgloves

Serried ranks of foxgloves blooming in the garden is one of the most captivating sights in any garden in early summer and beyond. These adaptable plants are so easy to grow and look right at home, whether you have a riotous cottage or a blowsy country garden.

Not everyone has the space for foxgloves, or digitalis, and in more intimate plantings the larger species and varieties can look out of scale, but thankfully recent breeding has developed a number of compact types, more ideally suited to narrow borders, small spaces or even containers.

Most of the varieties here are biennials, or at best short-lived perennials, bred from native Digitalis purpurea, although one – ‘Carillon’ selected from the European Digitalis grandiflora – is perennial, its amply proportioned, soft yellow flowers performing for a number of weeks in high summer. The great thing about the smaller biennial varieties is that if sown early in the year, in January and February, in the warmth of a greenhouse or conservatory, you can encourage them to start flowering the same year, instead of the normal two-year period required for most foxgloves, particularly so with dwarf multi-branched ‘Foxy Mixed’. It’s definitely worth trying but if they don’t, don’t worry, as they're guaranteed to flower the next, and whenever they bloom foxgloves are also highly attractive to bees of all kinds.

Sow in a seed tray or pots at a temperature of 15-20C (59-68F), cover with a clear lid and keep moist. Seedlings usually appear 14-21 days later. Transplant young plants to individual trays using peat-free, multi-purpose compost when large enough to handle and grow on, potting on into 10cm (4in) pots. Gradually accustom young plants to outside conditions, or place in a cold frame before planting out into moisture-retentive soil in semi-shade or sun in spring.