crocosmia and parsley

Every summer, I can’t wait for the crocosmia to bloom. It must be one of my favourite perennial flowers in the garden. The hummingbirds love it and so do the bees. The bees and other beneficial bugs also love the Italian broad-leaf parsley that I try to let go to flower at the same time as the crocosmia blooms…they look so beautiful together.
Parsley is a biennial plant so it flowers and goes to seed in it’s second year. Every year, the seeds drop from the flowers and germinate all around the crocosmia so nowadays, I have to do very little to keep this lovely duo going in this spot. Some of the parsley plants in their first year give us leaves for the kitchen and the ones in their second year give us blooms and eventually some new plants to keep the cycle going.
The self seeded feverfew looks good with them too and is another beneficial garden plant. I so appreciate the no-fuss reliability of this combination.

Crocosmia is a close relative of the gladiola….It’s not fussy about soil, I don’t feed it much at all (a wee bit of compost), I never need to water it (altho’ for Mayne Island, my garden is quite moist) and it over winters reliably here on the coast. It can even become a bit invasive if left alone, but I love it so much, that’s ok with me. It grows well in the semi shade near the cherry tree.