Ok, I'm cheating (a bit). I sowed Foxglove seed in trays to prick out into small pots for planting next spring. But I left it a bit late (end of August). Foxgloves are biennial which is a somewhat flexible term. If you sow them early enough they can flower the following year e.g. in 2026 for 2027. Then again they are apt to take two full years i.e. a 2026 sowing will bloom in 2028.

 So I bought a tray of plugs as seen above which are more advanced than my seedlings; hopefully some or all will flower next year. Plug plants are not as cheap as growing from seed but they still represent good value. These were a pound per plug plus a few pounds postage.

 

Autumn in South London.

 Bulbs- 480 of them, which I ordered for planting en masse at the music school. Bulbs are relatively inexpensive (unless it's something rare) so you get a lot for your money. These came to £94.99 including delivery, that's 20p each on average. I got Narcissus 'Tete-a-Tete', Crocus tommasinianus and Chionodoxa forbesii for spring and various Alliums for early summer: A. caeruleum, A. sphaeroephalon, A. hollandicum and A. moly.

 I recently bought a couple of bare root Stinking Iris (Iris foetidissima). They were good healthy clumps of thick rhizomes. Very suitable for dividing so two became nine. And the eight pounds I paid for the pair became less than a pound per pot! 

 

 Eternal life. Phacelia tanacetifolia grew on this area of the allotment and self-seeded. Under a tarpaulin under a wheel barrow a few of the seeds were exposed to light and water where the tarp was torn. That was enough for them to germinate. 

 

England's green and pleasant land is green again. 

 

Misty morning.