Rose Campion

Effortless, striking, and completely at home in the cottage garden. Rose Campion forms a basal rosette of exceptionally soft, woolly, silver-grey leaves that feel like felt to the touch — a mound that persists through winter, providing structure when other plants disappear. In summer, tall branched silver stems carry simple, round, neon-bright magenta-pink flowers that appear to glow against the pale, ghostly foliage.

A short-lived perennial that self-seeds prolifically to create a permanent, renewing colony. Ultra-hardy (H7), thriving in poor dry soil, and listed on the RHS Plants for Pollinators.

• Lychnis coronaria — Hardy Perennial (H7)
• Height: 60–80cm | Flowers: June–August
• Approximately 200 seeds per packet
• Sow indoors February–May or direct late spring; surface sow, do not cover
• Full sun; poor, dry soil — do not over-feed or the silver colour is lost
• Self-seeds freely — naturalises beautifully over time
• RHS Plants for Pollinators listed

Grow it with Nigella Miss Jekyll Blue for a cool-toned combination of neon magenta and hazy azure that is one of the great simple pleasures of the summer border.