A while back I sowed some ‘Love in a Mist’ (or Nigella) seeds. They are one of my favourite flowers. They took what seemed for ever to germinate. And then, after weeks of seemingly nothing happening, the tiniest green shoots popped up through the soil and from there they started to grow. By the end of July, after weeks of sunny weather, buds had appeared.
Then, of course, the weather changed. It turned cooler and rainy. Each day, on coming home from work, I checked to see if there were any flowers. Another wait ensued. Then, finally, one blue flower appeared, then, the next day, another, and another and by now I’ve lost count !
Love in a Mist is the prettiest of flowers, with a delicate, wispy network of foliage and gorgeous cornflower blue blooms. I can never resist a blue flower !
Love in a Mist – grown from seed in my garden
Loved by pollinators
Of course, I was supposed to thin out the seedlings, but I never quite got round to it. And now the flowers are overflowing , like little wildflower meadows in zinc pots. Happily, the pollinators love them too as you can see from these photographs. So I might just repeat my ‘mistake’ next year, ignore the instructions on the seed packet and leave them to their own happy abundance. There is a lesson in there somewhere, I think !
Soon enough, after flowering, seed heads will form. Usually at that stage, I pick a few stems and allow the seed heads to dry indoors. That, in turn, will give me new seeds for next year.
Love in a Mist is so easy to grow. I sowed mine directly outdoors sometime in May. Being further north, it is usually August before I see the flowers. But that vibrant blue is always worth the wait in my opinion. You can learn a bit more about Love in a Mist here
Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely Sunday.
Paula
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Other gardening posts from Typewriter Girl to enjoy:-
Embracing Spring: Daffodils, Blackthorn, and Bluebells
These are beautiful! The wispy look and the color make this a showstopper. I think the “mistake” needs to be made year after year. 💟😊
Oh yes I totally agree 😊
Lovely photos! These have been the unexpected stars of my own garden this year. I scattered the seeds liberally and left them to do their thing! As they are wildflowers I took the view that in the ‘wild’ there would be no thinning or other intervention so I would just leave Mother Nature to do her work. Mine germinated quickly and wen from strength to strength; like yours, they are overflowing from their pots, and the odd one has even emerged from between flag stones and in the midst of gravel where seeds must have been blown. The vast majority are blue but a few have been white or a pale lilac colour. They are still going strong.
Oh thank you. Yes I have a few white and lilac ones too but aren’t they great. I think the seedheads are supposed to be lovely too so we have that to look forward to 😊😊
Those are beautiful!!
Thank you 😊
They’re absolutely beautiful, I’m glad they bloomed at last 🙂
Thank you 🙂
What beautiful pictures. 🙂
Thank you 🙂
They are lovely and very unusual. I never thin seedlings out either… I hate pulling them up in case the others don’t grow.
I just love that cornflower blue….
I just can’t resist a blue flower 😊