Annuals are plants which do all their growing, flowering, setting seed in one year and then die. Think of the usual garden favourites such as petunias, cornflowers, begonias. Some of them grow like this whatever the climate, while others might live longer in countries with warmer winters. Most vegetables that we are familiar with also fall into this category.

Each year, gardeners pour over seed catalogues, deciding which annuals and varieties to chose for the coming year. This is part of the pleasure of gardening for many, but obviously there is a cost implication. Self seeding annuals are plants which, if left to set seed and disperse their seeds, have seeds which are robust enough to germinate and grow into plants without any intervention from the gardener.

I can see many benefits to these plants. As a lazy gardener, I am very happy to have plants which take the work out of planting them in seed trays, nurturing them, growing them on and planting them out. Once the seeds are in the soil, they can pop up in gaps where there is bare soil and start to grow there. They will naturally grow best in the parts of your garden that suit them best, so you don’t need to worry about what soil conditions or sun aspect they require. As the seeds will have been polinated the previous year, you can be assured of genetic diversity. Over time, the ones best suited to your garden’s particular conditions will thrive and produce more seeds, producing stronger and better plants from year to year. Think survival of the fittest. Finally, all these new plants, of which you could have hundreds, are free. If they grow in a spot you don’t want them, just hoe them or cut them down.

These annuals can grow at different times of the year. Flowering plants which are good for pollinators include calendula and nasturtiums. Nasturtiums have the added benefit of edible leaves and the seeds can be pickled and used like capers. These both are likely to start germinating in the spring. Herbs such as coriander and parsley can start growing several times through the year from spring to autumn. I like to harvest a handful of coriander seeds and scatter it all around my garden as I love fresh coriander. I think of it as keeping my seed bank in the soil, rather than in envelopes in the house.

Last year I discovered two winter/ spring salad crops that are both good self seeders. The first is Miner’s Lettuce and the second is Lamb’s Lettuce, also known as corn salad. The seedlings for both of these appear in late autumn when everything else seems to be going dormant and dying down. They grow slowly through the winter months but can still be harvested from January onwards. They keep going into the spring when other crops start to take over. I have found self seeding is particularly good for the Lamb’s lettuce. This plant is slow to germinate and to grow when started in seed trays. Last year I only managed to get three plants to grow from seed. I left them, rather than harvest this meagre crop. Charles Dowding reported that his come back each year, so I gave it a go. This winter, I have over a hundred plants!

Annual weeds can also be seen as self seeding annuals, if you are willing to reframe your opinions on these plants. Rather than curse and pull up every weed that appears in your garden, take time to get to know them. Some might turn into friends rather than enemies! I have started eating cleavers, chickweed, dead nettle in my salad mix and see them as useful additions to my edible garden. As with all new plants that you add to your diet, it is a good idea to just try a little to start with in case you have an allergy or it doesn’t suit you. I have also found that flavours vary from plant to plant and from season to season. So just because something tastes unpleasant the first time you try it, don’t give up on it. One forager I know suggested you should try 8 different plants of the same variety before writing them off. Now there’s a challenge for you!