Rose Campion
Cottage garden favorite, great with roses, larkspur, feverfew, cornflowers, and other casual flowers. This is such a fantastic plant-- deer-resistant, drought-tolerant, pest-free, and beautiful. Low rosettes of silver leaves the first year are striking foliage plants. In late spring to early summer the second year, they produce flower stalks to 3 feet that are just as silvery as the leaves, producing a beautiful tracery effect in the garden, especially against a dark background like shrubs or fruit trees. The flowers are a highly-saturated deep purple-red. or magenta, which is set off perfectly by the silver foliage. I use these along a path, where they beckon the eye forward and seem to glow at night. They make flower stalks just after the columbines finish, so I interplant them. When the columbines start to look ratty, the rose campion covers them. They could do the same for poppies, bulbs or other early bloomers. Seeds need cold-conditioning, so planting in fall is recommended. Full sun to partial shade. Mine are along a path between fruit trees and it's perfect. In cool or coastal areas, they'll want full sun. 50 seeds