POP GOES THE GARDEN

Here's why and how to embrace some plants that self-sow

- MEGHAN SHINN

Sometimes gardeners shy from using plants with a propensity to seed themselves around the garden, for fear that these self-seeders will outcompete neighboring plants or upset the overall planting design. These are valid concerns, but gardening with self-seeding plants has many upsides:

It can be of great benefit to bees, butterflies and other pollinators as well as birds. Plants that self-sow are often those that flower abundantly, providing plenty of food for these insects while also creating a lively, colorful display. Birds may help themselves to the seed while it's still standing or after it has dropped to the ground.

Self-sown plants may require less resources. If plants are happy to volunteer in your garden, and those seedlings go on to thrive, they are happy with its conditions need for supplemental water, soil amendments or fertilizer.

It offers surprises that can be gorgeous, and it's the chance to turn design into a partnership with nature, rather than a struggle for control.

That said, creativity is not lost. Although plants will pop up where you didn't plan for them, of course you're not required to leave them there. There's always the option to pull unwanted seedlings or transplant them to a preferred spot.

A penstemon seedling is easy to spot with its broad, tongue-like leaves. 'Husker Red' penstemon (Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red') blooms white in spring; left standing, its seedheads may yield volunteers the next year. To reduce their number, the gardener can remove a portion of the stalks in fall.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING