Some years I toss the seeds about and in two years I have loads of it.
Other years I pull it out because it is such a bold color. It does not live well next to red and dark orange (though to my eyes a light orange is OK) and I have a lot of red/orange flowers that will bloom this week. I am sure I will be yanking a few plants out.
One plant it goes very well with is silver artemesia.
It's great with feverfew.
Mallow's a good companion.
I find it interesting with the smokebush shrub
Here are a few facts about lychnis to enhance your daily life:
It's an herb.
It's a biennial. (There seems to be some discrepancy about this. I have seen many places where they say it is perennial. I can say that in my garden it behaves as a biennial)
It was once used for candle wicks.
The root contains saponins, a soap substitute. If the root is mashed and boiled, it will lather and can be used for washing clothes, hair etc. In the event of a national soap shortage, I will still be able to have clean hair--I sleep easier at night knowing this. :)
There. More than you ever wanted to know about rose campion.
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Lots of good facts, Zoey. Mine is doing well this year, too. Yes, it does look best with silver.
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely. There is still one question left unaswered: Why, no matter how red the blooms on the plants from which I get the seeds that I scatter, does my rose campion bloom with pale pink, almost white flowers? A rose campion without the rose is not particularly striking plant and yet. . .it's what I get.
ReplyDeleteI had Rose Campion here but it died out. I like the color of the flowers a lot. It looks nice around your yard.
ReplyDeleteHello dear Zoey:-)
ReplyDeleteI did read your comment about an idea for an appetizer and haven't forgotten about you, just didn't have a chance to answer you until now! lol Your Rose Campions are just gorgeous...I need more flowerbeds to plant all I'd love to plant!!!
I don't have your email addy and I don't see it on your blog so I'll type out my favourite appetizer recipe to bring to a party here:
BLT Pinwheels
1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 pkg (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp thick and chunky salsa
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 spinach-flavour, tomatoe-flavor or plain flour tortillas (8 to 10 inches in diameter)
3 roma (plum) tomatoes, seeded and chopped (1 cup)
1 1/2 cups shredded romaine lettuce.
1. Mix mayo, cream cheese, salsa and mustard in small bowl until blended. Stir in bacon.
2. Spread bacon mixture evenly over tortillas. Top with tomatoes and lettuce. Tightly roll up tortillas.
3. Wrap tortilla rolls individually in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour but no longer than 8 hours. Cut into 1-inch slices and secure each slice with a toothpick. Makes about 30 appetizers!
These are always a hit:-)
I love rose campion.I have two colors of it. One like yours and other is white with soft pink in the center. Your gardens look great.
ReplyDeleteAnd in the event of a soap shortage, you will "clean up" I guess, because you have so much rose campion you could sell your extra to those that don't have any. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThank everyone for the comments!
ReplyDeleteKaren, Great idea! LOL.
I have a question...I bought my Rose Campion 3 months ago and it has not done nothing. When does it start to bloom?....Thanks DRF
ReplyDeleteI can't believe that I missed this post!
ReplyDeleteWith biennials, they don't normally bloom until the second year.
My red rose campion bloomed the first year and bloomed for the last three years. They have been multiplying well too.
My white lychnis has been showing to be a biennial. Which is fine since it spreads even better than the red.
I have found both of these to be great finds for my garden and love to see what other gardeners are doing with them.