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Many annuals and perennials drop their seeds after they bloom, then those seeds grow and flower the following season, creating unexpected, intriguing new partnerships with other plants in the garden. These self-seeding flowers are also useful because they sprout up and fill open areas of the landscape that would otherwise be prone to colonization by weeds. And, because self-seeders emerge where conditions suit them best, they perform as well, or better, than painstakingly nurtured plants.
Before you add self-sowing flowers to any bed or border, however, you need to answer two questions:
1. Are the seeds hardy enough? The seeds must be able to survive your winter and germinate the next year. In most regions, these self-seeders return reliably season after season: Forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica), cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus), cleome (Cleome hasslerana), flowering tobacco (Nicotiana alata and N. sylvestris) and common sunflower (Helianthus annuus).
2. Is the plant too aggressive? Some self-seeders become worse pests than dandelions and chickweeds, so check with fellow gardeners and local horticulturists to identify plants that may be problems in your area.
So, where do self-seeding flowers fit into the landscape? Here are a couple ways I like to use self-seeders and dependable plants for those purposes.
