Digitalis purpurea - Foxglove seeds

Digitalis purpurea, also known as purple foxglove or common foxglove, is a hardy biennial plant, or a perennial if the flowers are pruned before seed formation. It has an upright habit and produces long spikes adorned with tubular flowers from June to September. The flowers are light purple, sometimes white, with a spotted purple throat, above a rosette of robust oval, deep green leaves tinged with grey. These plants are found in clear undergrowth, colonising humus-bearing and well-drained soils.

Digitalis purpurea is a botanical species of the Scrophulariaceae family. It has given rise to numerous varieties that easily crossbreed with each other. It is a biennial herbaceous plant that develops a large rosette, 45 cm (18in) in diameter, with hairy, dark green leaves that have a slightly grey tinge. The leaves are crenate-dentate and have a network of wrinkles on the underside and are covered with light-coloured, woolly hairs. In May-June of the second year, up to 5 hollow but sturdy stems emerge from the rosette, reaching 1.50 m (5ft) high. They bear a very dense floral spike, composed of many tightly packed tubular flowers that open from bottom to top. Each bell-shaped flower attracts numerous bees and bumblebees, tirelessly collecting nectar and pollen. The flowers are usually light purple or faded pink, occasionally white or cream-yellow, with varying amounts of purple speckling and spotting in the throat.

Plant purple foxgloves in dappled sunlight or partial shade, in humus-bearing and moist soil, alongside old roses or perennials with single flowers such as columbines, centaureas, astrantias, or thalictrums. This plant readily self-seeds, allowing you to enjoy it for a long time in a naturally inspired shaded garden. This magnificent, wild and romantic plant, also pairs well with perennial geraniums, heucheras, and the feathery foliage of ferns in clear undergrowth. You can also bring it into your home for sumptuous bouquets.

Purple foxgloves have many names depending on the region, often related to fingers: purple foxglove, common foxglove, great foxglove, Our Lady's gloves, fingered gloves, glove-maker, wolf's tail, paved, Our Lady's dice, fly-catcher, and many others.

Attention, these seeds are reserved for experienced gardeners who are accustomed to sowing very fine seeds. These seeds are as fine as dust, barely visible to the naked eye.