Lucy, I forgot to answer your question about the "rip outs"- typically I just weed them out. Things like pink evening primrose, Nigella, and other rapid spreaders and heavy reseeders. There's plenty left when I'm done, and the next year you can't even tell any have been removed.
Thankfully we're getting adequate rainfall this year, so the Foxgloves are happy. They're one of my favorite cottage garden plants, and the first 2 years I lived here we had droughts, so getting them established was a real challenge. I started several kinds this spring and had a few blooms this year from some started last year- hopefully I've got a cycle of yearly bloom started.
