Nigella 'Miss Jekyll Mixed' (Love-in-a-mist)

Named after the great Gertrude Jekyll herself, this is the Love-in-a-mist that defined the romantic English cottage border. Semi-double flowers in a soft pastel palette of sky blue, deep violet, pure white, and rose pink sit nestled in a ruff of fine, ferny foliage — creating the famous hazy, floating effect that gives the plant its name.

But Nigella offers two seasons of beauty. As the petals fall, the centre swells into a magnificent balloon-shaped seed pod, striped in purple and green — one of the most sought-after elements in dried flower arranging, and a reason alone to grow it. Listed on the RHS Plants for Pollinators.

• Nigella damascena 'Miss Jekyll Mixed' — Hardy Annual (H3/H4)
• Height: 45–50cm | Spread: 25cm | Flowers: June–August
• Approximately 400 seeds per packet
• Spacing: 20cm apart — sow direct where it is to flower
• RHS Plants for Pollinators listed
• Seed pods dry beautifully for winter arrangements

Scatter it through a border and let it self-seed. In a few years, it will feel as though it has always been there.