I have learnt that they do better in pots, as our soil is very alkaline. I buy them in 4" pots very early in the season and pot them on first, into gallon pots and then into their final pot. They much prefer some nice quality soil like Fox Farm, so there is some expense involved in getting them to look good.
They say you can tell their color by looking at the underside of the leaf but I didn't notice any difference in them and it is rather like it used to be when you were having a baby. You needed to wait a while to find out what color. As you can see below when the blooms first appear they are not giving away any secrets.
Then suddenly a little color starts to show up in the flower bud and then all is revealed.
So this year they are all the same color which is a little disappointing as last year I had darker pink and white ones. At the same time their early arrival has been difficult for them because of swinging temperatures. They would really prefer a cool spring rather than the swings we have been having. First heat, then cold then stiff winds and now lots of heavy rain.
The older flowers are dropping much faster than usual.
My love of foxgloves goes back to my childhood and reading lots of stories about fairies. The markings on the inside of the bell were once thought to be the handprints of fairies.
There foxgloves in our garden
How careless they must be
To leave their gloves out hanging
For everyone to see.
Taken from, One Thousand Poems for Children.
Although wild foxgloves seed freely under the right conditions I don't believe there is viable seed in these. Therefore, as soon as the main flower spike has finished I will cut it off to give the side flowers chance to grow. Not so showy but still give a few more weeks of bloom.
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I've come to love them too, Jenny. They didn't do at all well when I planted them in my borders here but, when I started planting them in the raised planters of my cutting garden a couple of years ago, they've been more rewarding. Some of those I planted in October were blooming in January this year but they took an extended holiday during the warmer period we had in February. They seem to be jumping back in gear again now, possibly in response to the rain we've had this month.
ReplyDeleteThose are so pretty! Wish I could grow them here, I'll just enjoy yours and thank you for sharing. ~ FlowerLady
ReplyDeleteThey are glorious! And such a striking focal point in the garden!
ReplyDeleteI love foxgloves. When I was a child they carpeted the bank of a steep ditch across from our house. We used to push ladders across the ditch so we could pick them. Yours are certainly responding to the extra love given them. They are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteI read your post and then later in the day saw a wild foxglove blooming behind my house.
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