Country diary: Phacelia is the most useful plant - I always have a packet for my garden | Susie White

Allendale, Northumberland: Farmers use it as cover crop, and I sow it into bare soil - but not before I've had a close look at its stunning detailsCupped by bristly sepals, the five-petalled flowers of phacelia flare open at the tips, drawing insects to their abundant nectar and blue pollen. Hoverflies, honeybees, parasitic wasps, solitary bees and bumblebees - there's life all around me as I hunker down among the plants.I always have a ready packet of Phacelia tanacetifolia and use it for sowing into any bare soil among both vegetables and ornamentals. This part of the flower garden was rejigged in early May to curtail the spread of some vigorous Michaelmas daisies. It left a space for me to plant biennial cotton thistles, the giant Onopordum acanthium, which will tower above my head next summer. Continue reading...