Had a bad year? Embrace ‘volunteer crops’, your garden’s gift to you

If plants pop up where you weren’t expecting them, don’t pull them up – you never know what you might find

I’ve been as honest as possible about the rubbish growing season I’ve had this year. For reasons beyond my control – mostly life, work and weather – it’s been far from my best. I’ve hobbled along, trying to keep my cool when my trays of seed have barely germinated and while attempting to rescue root-bound plants that I’d somehow forgotten about. I’ve come to the realisation that it’s fine to have an off year as long as you embrace it. As the saying – often attributed to Buddha – goes, pain is inevitable but suffering is optional.

For me, that’s meant welcoming as many “volunteer plants” as I have space for. The term is often used as a kind synonym for weeds, but I use it to mean plants growing where I hadn’t planned for them to be. And given that I mulch with compost made from my garden waste and kitchen scraps, and leave my crops to flower and self-seed, unexpected plants always pop up.