LOVE-IN-A-MIST
Family RANUNCULACEAE
Nigella damascena
Annual
Also known as Fennel-flower and an native of
south-eastern Europe.
The plant owes its name to the thread-like leaves
that clothe the stems in a fern-like fashion ad
surround the flowers.
The flowers are about one and a half inches across,
rounded and not unlike Cornflowers in form, being
white, blue or purple in colour.
The blue-flowered varieties are the most desirable
and the semi-double variety “Miss Jekyll”
is often grown to the exclusion of others.
Var. nana is a dwarf, useful for edgings.
The Spanish species Nigella hispanica is more coarse
in foliage and has flowers of blue with red stamens,
up to two and a half inches across, borne singly
or in pairs.
There are also white and purple forms.
Sow the seed outdoors in autumn or in March where
the plants are to flower and allow the seedlings
ample space for development.
Full sun is essential ad the soil must be rich
in humus.
Propagation is from seed.
The normal flowering season is from June to Michaelmas.
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