Updated 13/06/2025
What’s better than gorgeous plants to fill your garden? Free plants!
And self-seeders produce new plants for us every single year.
Fuss Free
If you want a fuss free garden, you can leave the places to their own devices as they require little intervention. If you leave them to bloom and set seed, these prolific varieties will fill every potential patch in the garden, to fulfil that desirable cottage garden style.
Here are my top 10 self-seeding plants:
Papaver rhoeas (Poppy)
Also known as the common poppy, this plant is well known for its seeds as well as its scarlet red flowers. A popular plant for pollinators, poppies will give a great start to a garden with a wildflower or cottage feel.
Planting Advice
• Sun – Full sun
• Position – South, North, West or East facing
• Exposure – Exposed or sheltered
• Moisture – Well-drained
• Soil – Loam, chalk or sand
Aquilegia vulgaris (Common columbine)
This is a cottage garden favourite that freely disperses its seeds, meaning that new plants will pop up. Often, the next generation will flower a different colour to the parent plant because they interbreed freely.
Planting Advice
• Sun – Full sun or partial shade
• Position – South or East facing
• Exposure – Exposed or sheltered
• Moisture – Moist but well-drained
• Soil – Sand or loam
Angelica archangelica (Angelica)
Beautifully architectural, the thick stems branch out like fireworks with each one bearing a globe of tiny white flowers. Growing over 2 metres, it’s a lovely tall addition that pollinators will love too when it flowers in summer.
Planting Advice
• Sun – Full sun or partial shade
• Position – North, East or West facing
• Exposure – Exposed or sheltered
• Moisture – Moist but well-drained or poorly drained
• Soil – Clay, chalk or loam
Digitalis purpurea (Common foxglove)
The foxglove is immensely popular in British gardens, and one of the only tall flowering plants that thrives in shaded conditions. Leave it to set seed and new spires of pendant purple flowers will brighten up your garden every year.
Planting Advice
• Sun – Full sun or partial shade
• Position – South, West or East facing
• Exposure – Exposed or sheltered
• Moisture – Well-drained or moist but well-drained
• Soil – Sand, clay, chalk or loam
Myosotis sylvatica (Garden forget-me-not)
A low-growing variety with delicate blue flowers that look stunning at the front of borders. This semi-evergreen flowers in spring and spreads like a carpet, so is perfect for a rockery, where it’s nectar will be enjoyed by bumblebees and butterflies.
Planting Advice
• Sun – Partial shade
• Position – South, North, West or East facing
• Exposure – Exposed or sheltered
• Moisture – Moist but well-drained
• Soil – Clay, loam or chalk
Verbena bonariensis (Purple top)
Tiny purple flowers bloom all summer to autumn on tall stems, growing up to 2.5 metres. Purple top will add height and structure in beds, whilst being appreciated by pollinators. Leave it to self-seed and it will pop up all over your plot.
Planting Advice
• Sun – Full sun
• Position – South or West facing
• Exposure – Exposed or sheltered
• Moisture – Moist but well-drained
• Soil – Clay, loam, chalk or sand
A very pretty annual with sky-blue flowers appearing on thin stems above beautiful wispy foliage midsummer. An ideal plant for novice gardeners and looks wonderful in a cottage garden style border. Will happily self seed, especially if grown in a gravel garden. Alternatively save the seed heads and scatter on the ground early autumn.
Planting Advice
• Sun – Full sun
• Position – South or East facing
• Exposure – Exposed
• Moisture – Well-drained
• Soil – Sand or loam
Foeniculum vulgare (Bronze fennel) ‘Giant Bronze’
Let this bronze fennel herb go to seed and it will reward you with more plants the following year. Yellow flowers bloom in mid to late summer and followed by aromatic seeds. In a sunny herb garden, this would be a marvellous centrepiece.
Planting Advice
• Sun – Full sun
• Position – South or West facing
• Exposure – Sheltered
• Moisture – Moist but well-drained
• Soil – Chalk, clay, sand or loam
Lunaria annua (Honesty)
Instantly recognisable by its translucent disc-shaped seed pods, they produce pink, purple or white flowers in summer. Followed by silvery seed pods which spread freely. The seedheads are also commonly used for dried flower arrangements, and look great in a vase.
Planting Advice
• Sun – Full sun or partial shade
• Position – South, West of East facing
• Exposure – Sheltered or exposed
• Moisture – Moist but well-drained
• Soil – Chalk, loam and sand
Chrysanthemum parthenium (Feverfew)
This bushy perennial with pretty, daisy-like flowers and fragrant leaves is low growing and forms a nice carpet for the front of borders. It’s also a great choice for city and courtyard spaces as well as cottage gardens.
Planting Advice
• Sun – Full sun
• Position – South, West or East facing
• Exposure – Sheltered or exposed
• Moisture – Well-drained
• Soil – Loam or sand
Leaving self-seeding plants to their own devices may mean they pop up in unwanted places. But it’s easy to transplant them to exactly where you want them.
Trowel in hand
Dig them up with a trowel, taking care not to disturb the roots, simply replant them in prepared soil at the same depth. Then water them in well.
This selection should guarantee you a garden full of beautiful blooms year after year with their self-seeding propagation. Whilst you can appreciate your low maintenance cottage garden.
For more great gardening advice, make sure you head to my YouTube Channel. Make sure you’re subscribed with notifications on so you don’t miss any of my new videos
Frequently Asked Questions
1 – What are self-seeding plants?
Self-seeding plants naturally drop their seeds at the end of their flowering season, allowing new plants to grow the following year without any input from the gardener. It’s nature’s way of multiplying, and it’s perfect for low-maintenance, cottage-style garden full of charm.
2 – Do I need to deadhead self-seeding plants?
Only if you don’t want them to self-seed! If you want your plants to spread naturally, let the flowers go to seed. However, deadheading during the flowering season can encourage longer blooms, so consider a balance. Let some go to seed, and tidy others.
3 – Which self-seeding plant is best for sunny gardens?
Papaver rhoeas (common poppy) is ideal for full sun and poor soils. Its vivid red flowers add drama and attract pollinators. Verbena bonariensis and Nigella damascena also flourish in full sun, adding height and delicate texture respectively.
4 – How do I transplant unwanted seedlings?
Use a hand trowel to gently lift young seedlings, preserving their roots. Replant them at the same depth in well-prepared soil, water them in well, and keep the soil moist while they establish. This way, nothing goes to waste and you fill gaps with ease.
5 – Are self-seeding plants good for pollinators?
Absolutely. Many, like Angelica archangelica, Foxglove, and Fennel, are magnets for bees, butterflies, and hoverflies. Their open, nectar-rich flowers offer a vital food source, especially in the height of summer when pollinators are most active.
David Domoney is a Chartered Horticulturalist, Broadcaster, and Author. David has worked with a number of the UK’s leading garden retailers as a plant buyer and strategic consultant. With more than 30 years experience, in horticulture, David is as passionate about plants now as he was when he bought his first plant at a village fete.
Really informative and useful website would highly recommend.
Fantastic ideas for beginner garners and seasoned gardners. Well done!!!
Really useful, fantastic advice, thank u
We’ve got most of these but not one seed from the Angelica nor Verbena germinated which is disappointing.
Another prolific self seeder is Sweet Cicely and if you like it you’ll never get rid of wild garlic.
Where can i get seeds that are sure to re-seed themselves? I know some garden centers only have sterile plants.
Hi Kim. It depends what seeds you want. Unfortunately, it’s not always guaranteed in the British climate. Speak to assistants at the garden centre who may be able to point you in the right direction!
Hi Kim, look up Australian based plant seed, like Diggers and Heronswood, they save and reintroduce rare vegetables, fruits and plants, GMO free. The gardens are amazing . Sara
Keep on writing, great job!
I am wanting to turn an old approx. 3 acre pasture into a wildflower meadow in SW Michigan. Where do I learn the steps involved in preparing the field and planting the flowers?
Hi Mary,
Thanks for your comment. Take a look at David’s blog on wildflower meadows for some more info on this:
How to Create a Wildflower Meadow
I hope you find it useful! Good Luck with your meadow.
I have recently moved and the garden has turned out to need s lot of work
There are many spots that get big puddles when it rains. Is there anything I could do to solve this problem please, as I know it will attract mosquitoes in the summer, and I’m already a magnet for these pests.
Thank you so much!
Hi Judy,
Thank you for your comment. It sounds like you may have a drainage problem and this can be due to a number of reasons. Can I ask what sort of ground the puddles are forming on (lawn, flower beds etc)?
Your garden may be formed from heavy soils, like clay, which make drainage much more difficult. One solution would be to dig over the clay, incorporating a gravel, grit or organic matter which will aid with drainage and improve the soil – although this may not be a favorable option if it means digging up your lawn! Check out the RHS website for more information and tips on drainage. I hope this helps!