In the rose bed, of the 3 verbena bonariensis bought from Wisley last year, one is putting up nice new growth, one is definitely a goner and one might just be feebly coming back. So I had been thinking of buying more, but baulking at the expense.

But then yesterday, weeding the rose bed in my usual over-zealous way, I suddenly realised that what I was removing were quite possibly self-seeded little baby verbenas. The leaves look very like the parent plants’ and so I’m gong to leave them and see what transpires.

What a very happy piece of Nature’s profligacy if they do indeed prove to be what I hope they are! We’ll see.

Meantime, I also picked the first posy of roses – mostly ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ – gorgeous!