Favourite flowers: Love in the mist

For those of you who are new to the flower Love In The Mist there is an image above. Pretty, I think you will agree.

These delicate flowers grow in wild looking groups. Once you have grown a patch of these flowers they will come back year after year. Well sometimes with a little help from YOU.

Each flower, at the end of the growing season in Autumn, turns into a dried, round seed head. These do not look unattractive, in some ways. I usually, eventually, pull these seed heads these and store them in an old yogurt pot in the garage.

Then in Spring I simply snap open the seed heads and sprinkle the contents onto my garden. The result is a rambling patch of these pretty flowers. Each year the patch grows and therefore so do the amount of seeds I can collect. Initially I bought a small packet of seeds, many years ago, which started this regular crop.

If you prefer you can snap the seed heads off and break them open straight away. This will allow you to save the seeds in an appropriate container or sprinkle them straight onto your garden. If you leave them to die away at the end of the season some of the seeds will naturally re-seed.

I like to sprinkle a smattering of the seeds onto to tubs and containers in my garden to add extra colour and bushiness.

LOVE IN THE MIST

The proper name for these flowers is Nigella damascena. This name comes from the Latin word niger which is a reference to its black seeds. The scientific classification is Magnoliophyta of the class Magnoliopsida, order Ranunculales, and family Ranunculaceae.

The more popular name Love in the Mist is often used as so often flowers are given to express love or such feelings. If used in this way this flower signifies some confusion so perhaps these will be perfect for unrequited love.

Each flower is only tiny, at probably less than an inch across. The foliage is a feathery type and a very bright green. Although the flower and seed heads look spiky these are not really sharp or prickly.

Usually the flowers are a bright blue or various shades of blue. These can be almost white, pale blue or deep blue. There are pink varieties also.

I read somewhere years ago that this flower was a favourite of Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales. I have little in common with this guy except that I was born in England and I too love this flower.

Part of the flower's attractions for me is their delicacy, prettiness and ability to return. It is one of the easiest flowers, I have ever known, to grow. The only problem is probably restricting and controlling its path.

Uses.

Love in the Mist can be cut and displayed. You will need to remove the excess greenery though to extend its life.

It is an old fashioned flower that sits well in cottage gardens.

The seed heads make for an unusual home flower arrangement.

The aromatic seeds have been used in eastern countries by both cooks and physicians for hundreds of years.

Love in the Mist has been around for at least 400 years.

In India the seeds and the leaves are used as a moth preventative for clothing.

Finally

Delicate they may be but these plants are quite hardy. They prefer less hot temperatures and seem to fair well in both semi and full shade. Overall an excellent addition to any garden. I can only deduce that they must be female as they multi task so well!