Always a work in progress, the mixed borders are coming along nicely this season. Above is the "hollyhock" border; this is it's second year and already it has easily doubled in size - and not all as a result of my effort. Hollyhocks, valerian, and poppies are all self-sowing plants - meaning they drop their seed in the fall and new plants appear in the spring. Magical. To help things along I added another 10 or so new hollyhock seedlings that I sowed inside this March/April, as well as a couple of valerian seedlings. Hollyhocks are biennial, so although a sizeable mound forms the first season, they will not bloom until their second year; then they are spent. But if you have a decent number of plants, they will self-seed as mentioned above and you can continue to enjoy this marvelous cottage garden flower in your border for years to come.
The grouping of white blossoms above are Japanese Anemones; this plant sends out horizontal shoots much like bee balm, so also doubles in size every year. In fact, like bee balm, it can quickly take over a border if its expansion is not contained by some well-considered removal of shoots. In the forefront are some bearded iris ("Hemstiched") and the flashes of red in the background are the blossoms of the coral bells, and the tops of penstemon. The tripods are in place to support the clematis that will, if the bunnies don't get to them first, climb and produce a profusion of white blossoms within in a few weeks.
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