"Rod" wrote in message
...

Having purused my books, hollyhocks, golden rod, achillea and angelica
seem
possible. How do these fare in the bee & slug department ? Can anyone
suggest other perrenials or hardy annuals ? My garden has a stony,
very
slightly acid, thin soil which quickly dries out in the summer. I'm in
South Bucks.
--

Foxgloves would do well in that situation - the yellow species are worth
trying as well as the native D. purpurea. Verbascums - white and yellow
species.

Thanks Rod. I'd thought about foxgloves and indeed there were a few
purpurea ones in the garden when we first moved here. Love the white ones
which I'd grown in my previous garden. But they don't self-seed well here -
I assume the soil is just a bit too dry. I've been adding mulch and compost
for some years now but the leylandii hedge that backs the borders doesn't
help. Also wondering about monkshood but IIRC that likes similiar
conditions to foxgloves.

I'd love verbascums but for some reason I have them filed in my mind as slug
fodder. It would be great to hear I'm wrong ! Saw some fantastic white
varieties this year ('Helen Johnson' and that ilk haven't appealed before).

Many thanks once again, Diane