Pincushion Flowers

Scabious are well loved cottage garden flowers grown to attract bees and butterflies and also as lovely cut flowers in summer. They are easily grown from seed, and some will flower in their first year. They also have some wonderful close relatives such as that add to the range of flowers.

Most Scabious require well-drained soil that isn’t too acidic, included in this are the Giant Scabious (Cephalaria) and Knautia, whereas the Devil’s Bit Scabious (Succisa and Succisella) like moisture but also reasonable drainage in winter.

The Caucasian Scabious have lovely large flowers in shades of Blue and White. The Perfecta Strain of seeds produces reliable plants with large flowers.

The smaller flowered Columbaria types are also raised from seed, for example Butterfly Blue and Butterfly Pink. Ochroleuca (meaning pale yellow) is tall and rangy and best in a wild garden. The shorter form, Moondance, is better for more formal settings.

Very closely related is Knautia macedonica with its wine-red flowers though the summer. Mars Midget is a shorter, redder, variety. Melton Pastels is a seed mix that produces a mix of mauve, pink and pale violet shaded flowers.

The giants amongst Scabious are the closely related Cephalaria. The best known is the 6ft / 2m plus Giant Yellow Scabious (Cephalaria gigantea). The large pale yellow flowers are a magnet for bees and butterflies. Alpina is half the height but with the same sized flowers.

The Devil’s Bit Scabious have globular flowers and prefer a moist soil. The British native Succisa pratensis grows in damp meadows grows to about 2ft / 60cm tall. Succisella is perhaps better for a garden border as it tolerates driers spells and produces more flower. Known as Frosted Pearls, the basic species has lavender blue flowers, and the form Alba is not pure white as the name suggests but more of a very pale pink. Both have creeping stems and ground hugging leaves.

Scabious are an old fashioned favourite enjoying something of a comeback for more natural styles of garden and there’s sure to be a sunny spot in most gardens for one or more. The bees, butterflies and birds are sure to thank you for growing them.

Janet and I run Plant Hunters’ Fairs, specialist plant fairs at wonderful locations offering special reduced entry rates to the gardens on the plant fair dates.

Coming up is:

Cholmondeley Castle Garden on Wednesday, August 2, Garden and Fair £5; Capesthorne Hall, Macclesfield on Sunday, August 13, Gardens and Fair £4; The Dorothy Clive Garden on Sunday, August 27, and Bank Holiday Monday, August 28, Garden and Fair £5; Weston Park on Sunday, August 27, and Bank Holiday Monday, August 28, Garden and Fair £4.

For up to date information about all our Plant Fairs, go online to: www.planthuntersfairs.co.uk.

Here’s just some of what’s coming up in Stone, Eccleshall and surrounding areas. Please note that the information in this feature was correct at the time of print but all events are subject to change. Please check with the venues/organisers for updates.