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GROWING

Onceyou’vesowna packetof forget-me-notseeds,youneverknow

wheretheymayturnupnext.Clustersof tinysky-blue,whiteor palepink

flowersscattertheirseedsfreelyandmaysuddenlyappearin a potor

at thefrontof a border,completelyuninvited.Butthenwhowouldn’t

welcomeforget-me-notsintotheirgarden?Prettyas canbe,lovedby

bees,andwiththemostsentimentalnamein horticulture,thesetiny

clustersof lovelinessmakethemostagreeableguests.

Needtoknow

Theyarebiennials(sowthisyearforbloomsnext),growwellin mostsoils,

in fullsunor partialshade,andflowerfromAprilto June.Letthemgeta

bittattytowardstheendof flowering,as thisis whentheysettheirseeds.

Asif forget-me-nots

couldn’tgetanysweeter,their

horticulturalnameis Myosotis,

whichderivesfromtheGreek

words‘mus’and‘ous’meaning

‘mouseear’:theshapeof the

plant’stinypetals.

Try these

OMyosotis alpestris ‘Rose’ Pale pink flowers: chilternseeds.co.uk

O Victoria Mix A blend of pink, white and blue flowers: kingsseeds.com

O Myosotis sylvatica ‘Ultramarine’ Pale blue flowers. Winner of RHS Award for Garden Merit: crocus.co.uk

FORGET-ME-NOTS

How to g row

Sow seeds from May to July. Find a

suitable spot in your garden, preferably

in semi-shade. Clear a patch of soil,

scatter seed thinly into drills about 25cm

apart, then sprinkle with soil to cover.

Water them in, but don’t drench. When

seedlings have grown a few leaves, thin

them out. Forget-me-nots prefer moist,

well drained soil (they are woodland

plants originally) so keep lightly watered.

They also grow well in pots and look

especially fine frothing around pink tulips

or lime-green euphorbias.

Spacing

25mm

Semi-

shade

Water

often