🌱 Plant Notes3 min read
Written by Tom HuberUpdated 21 July 2026
Nigella, and the quiet case for self-seeders
Every summer, in gardens across Suffolk, nigella turns up in places nobody planted it. That is really the whole appeal.
Love-in-a-mist is one of those plants that quietly does the work for you. Sow it once in a sunny border, let a few heads go to seed, and you will have it forever. Nothing fussy, nothing demanding — just a soft blue haze that appears each June among whatever else is coming up.
In the drier East Anglian summers it seems to do especially well. The seedlings shrug off wind, cope with our thin, quick-draining soils, and rarely need watering once they are up.
How I use it
- Scattered along the front of a sunny border, where the seed heads can be left through autumn.
- Tucked between roses to soften their base without competing for light.
- Left to self-seed into gravel paths, which it does with more grace than most plants.
The trick, if there is one, is patience with the mess. The papery seed pods are part of the pleasure — leave them until they rattle, then shake a few over the ground where you would like more. That is all.
Bon Gardening Thought
“A garden that seeds itself is a garden that is beginning to look after you back.”
Every garden is unique. The ideas shared in The Bon Blog are based on my experience working in Suffolk gardens. Your own garden may behave differently depending on its soil, aspect and local conditions.
Continue exploring
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