Flowers · Seeds
Love-in-a-mist
Nigella damascena
A short annual with thread-like leaves, blue flowers and inflated seed pods. It is one of the easiest flowers to sow direct, and it comes again where seed is allowed to fall.
Growing conditions
Soilchalk, loam, sand
Moisturewell-drained
pHneutral, alkaline
Position
SunFull sun
Aspecteast, south, west
Exposuresheltered, exposed
HardinessH5
Size
Time to maturityFlowers about 10–12 weeks from a spring sowing
Max height0.4–0.5 m
Max spread0.2–0.3 m
In the garden
Sow outdoors in autumn or spring where it is to flower. Thin the seedlings rather than transplanting them. A second sowing in late spring extends the show.
Usually left alone. Dense sowings get floppy and can be thinned.
Colour and scent
A mark in a season means the plant is doing that for at least part of it.
| Season | Foliage | Flower | Scent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | Leaves | — | — |
| Summer | Leaves | blue | — |
| Autumn | — | — | — |
| Winter | — | — | — |
- JanDormant
- FebDormant
- MarDormant
- AprDormant
- MayFoliage
- Junblue
- Julblue
- AugFoliage
- SepDormant
- OctDormant
- NovDormant
- DecDormant
Jobs
These dates suit a mild southern garden. A northern or Scottish plan shifts spring and autumn jobs by a fortnight.
25 September
Sow direct
Scatter love-in-a-mist where it is to flower. Autumn seedlings overwinter in milder gardens.
10 April
Sow a spring row
Sow again in March for flowers after the autumn batch. Thin to 15 cm.