...Not tropical, Verbena Bonariensis is great for providing a splash of colour in borders and is happy to grow amongst tall grasses.

Hardy, tall, really wind resistant, and of little interest to slugs/snails, I bought some at Akamba recently.
The bright mauve flowers are small but long lasting and I am hoping it will self seed around our garden.

Anyone agree with me?

I agree with you totally Cathy and one thing you will never have to do is buy anymore because it will seed everywhere.

Steve

Steve thats great! Now all I have to do next year, is not weed the little seedlings out by mistake!

Cathy if no one around home is growing it then it will be seedless will it not
perhaps I should get a second one from CTP

Verbena bonariensis is a perennial, so not only will it self-seed but it will also come up again next year.

If it likes your garden too much though it can become a bit of a weed!!

Verbena bonariensis is a great plant as the thin stems do not obstruct your view of other plants. It is a short lived perrenial so make sure you save the self sown seedlings.

It's a cracker, Cathy - a must have plant. It does seed itself around a bit, but doesn't ever become a nuisance as it's very easy to pull out if it turns up in the wrong place. It takes up virtually no room at soil level and just has tall willowy, airy stems with those purple flowers much loved by bees and butterflies.
Pete

I do think we need a few plants in our gardens which will survive over winter, I will look forward to having enough to share next year!

Cathy
In my experience the plant itself will only survive over the milder winters - a hard winter will kill the plant - but some of the seeds will remain viable to germinate the following spring.
Pete

i planted some last year cathy and it made it through last winter ok! and even some seedlings this year!! it looks great peeping through my tracky leaves its well over 6 foot!!

Pete, I see what you mean about losing some over winter but if freely self seeding, all will not be lost!

I will add a picture to add some colour to this thread!

try growing this against a eucalyptus - sheer magic!

Cheers Chris!
I do happen to have a small Euc' which is in a pot, to enjoy without it causing problems (another thread perhaps!) ...I sense a marriage in prospect!
C x

Just seen an advert in Saturdays Daily Mail for 5 plants for £9.99 or 10 plants for £14.98.
But they say young plants dispatched from September 2010.
Will this not be a bit late in the season to plant them?

Those of you who have been growing these over the last couple of years, how did the cope with last winter? Did the actual plants get through the winter ok, and did the seed survive the cold?

I am very tempted.

Beautiful cathy. I have always loved the dainty flowers, this comes top of my list.

Never knew why I never bought it because I have admired it for years.

Google brought me loads of images for your plant Cathy, well done BTW yours looks very nice indeed.