In article , Nell
writes
I'm in west mid-Wales, very acid soil, damp - although this last winter
and spring there has not been a lot of really heavy rain unfortunately.

Anyway, thanks everyone for your thoughts. Yes, indeed, I think I will
enjoy these beautiful flowers. As you all say, they are so easy to
remove. However, I am grateful for the advice that I remove the spike
once the seeds begin to form.

No - not once they *begin* to form! - once they begin to ripen, ie the
seed pods turn from green to brown.

The flowers open from the bottom of the spike upwards, so you have seed
pods developing at the bottom while flowers further up have still to
open. If you remove the spike when the first seeds begin to form, you
will miss most of the flowers.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"