Add majesty to your borders

Ruth toasts the charms of some aristocratic larkspur beauties

ONE of the good things about this year’s lockdown has been the gift of more time at home. We have all filled it in different ways, but in this house a key distraction has been growing more plants from seed. One of the greatest successes came from some old larkspur seeds discovered in a shed drawer. They produced tall spires of flowers in shades ranging from the deepest indigo to the most gentle mauve, held above attractively fringed leaves.

We started them in trays and then moved the seedlings to larger modules when they were robust enough, before planting them out after the frosts.

We were lucky they did so well as they are best sown in situ, as they develop deep tap roots and don’t like being moved once they are growing.

So this time I’ll be sowing them in the ground, albeit with some trepidation as there’s a long time to go between now and next summer.

I could, of course, save the seeds and sow them in situ next spring, but they may not perform as well as those that are sown now and given longer to mature and develop.

So maybe I will hedge all my bets, sow some now in situ, a few in pots and a third batch in the ground in spring so we get a succession of blooms.

When sowing in soil, prepare the seedbed, breaking up the soil and removing weeds, stones and other bits of debris. Water the area and scatter the seeds thinly – it’s not difficult as they are fairly large and easy to handle.

Cover seeds with a little more soil, label so you don’t disturb them, and deter pests and cats with a chemical spray or a few spiny twigs.