These are classic Hardy Biennials.

They follow the traditional two-year rhythm that defines the cottage garden style.

The Timeline:
Year 1 (The Green Year): Sow in summer. The plant grows a large, low rosette of soft, hairy leaves.
Year 2 (The Flower Year): It shoots up majestic 1.5-metre spikes, blooms in early summer, and drops seeds before dying back.

Top Tip: This mix is designed to self-seed! Let the pods ripen and drop, and you will have a permanent, evolving display that moves around your garden.

Foxglove seeds are dust-like and need light to germinate.

Germination:
Sow outdoors in a seedbed or in pots from May to July. Scatter the tiny seeds on the surface of the soil. Do not cover them—they need light to trigger growth. Keep moist. Germination takes 14-21 days.

Where to Sow:
They love shade or semi-shade. They are the perfect woodland plant. They thrive in humus-rich soil (add leaf mould or compost!).

Care While Growing:
Planting Out: Move your young plants to their final flowering position in Autumn (Sept/Oct). This allows them to get their roots down before winter so they can rocket up in spring.

Foxgloves are the stars of the shade garden. Pair them with these woodland favourites:

• 🌿 Ferns & Hostas: Texture Contrast. The coarse, hairy leaves of Foxgloves look fantastic against the sleek, shiny foliage of ferns. They thrive in the same damp, shady conditions.
• 🌙 Honesty (Lunaria): The Spring Relay. Honesty flowers slightly earlier, leaving behind green seed pods just as the Foxglove reaches its peak. They share the same woodland aesthetic.

Sow in summer. Plant out in autumn. Flowers the following summer (May-July).