Centura Dealbata (Persian Cornflower)

These bushy perennials are easy to grow from seed, they’re very hardy & can withstand nearly everything my garden & I throw at them! They have been moved so many times - I move my garden around, almost as much as furniture, my theory is if Chelsea gardens can cope with being built and then moved, my garden can surely withstand me emptying a bed & having a redesign every time the mood takes me lol .

They started flowering in May & will continue for the full season if you continue to deadhead; however, I do this harshly as they can withstand any amount of cutting back I give them, & splitting to propagate!

Again, they’re one to consider for the future I think as they prefer well-drained conditions but are drought tolerant once established (just don’t seem to reach the optimum height). Birds, bees & butterflies absolutely adore them, & they’re deer & rabbit resistant!

The pinnately lobed leaves are oval in shape, have whiteish hairs underneath (so they can look quite silvery from a distance) & stand on quite strong stems themselves; but the flowers rise above these reaching to 1m tall.

The flowers are good for cutting, they’re thistle-like in appearance: lighter inner lilac-pink petals, moving to darker outer petals, then with larger outer fringed florets (when many small flowers are collected in clusters or heads, each flower is called a floret).

I bought this pack of seeds from Thompson & Morgan in 2020 for less than the price of a coffee: I’ve a number of plants as well as keeping family & neighbours in stock, Yorkshire through & through you see!

@just.me.in.my.garden