Sacramento Digs Gardening: Strange seedpods add spice to summer garden

"Persian Jewels" variety of Love-in-a-Mist includes several pink and purples variations. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Love-in-a-Mist produces pretty flowers and a bonus

Are those pod people in my plot? Space aliens have invaded my garden!

No, it's just the distinctive and decorative seedpods of Love-in-a-Mist.

A member of the buttercup family, Love-in-a-Mist is an old-fashioned favorite, native to Southern Europe and Northern Africa. This annual blooms abundantly in late spring and early summer.

Nigella, its botanical name, was derived from the Latin word for black, "niger," and refers to the plant's intensely black seeds. With an oregano-like flavor, those aromatic seeds are used as a spice in Turkey and the Middle East.

The Victorians fell in love with Love-in-a-Mist as a cut flower and for its decorative striped seedpods, which can be dried and used in arrangements. Its nickname refers to the light green, lacy bracts that surround the flowers, which range from white to dark blue, with several shades of pink or purple in between.

The most common Love-in-a-Mist is brilliant blue. Popular varieties include true blue "Miss Jekyll" and "Oxford Blue.

Love-in-a-Mist was popular with the Victorians.

" "Persian Jewels," which started my Nigella collection, features a mix of pink and lavender shades.

The large seedpods are actually five seedpods fused together. More than 2 inches long, they usually start green with purple, burgundy or bronze stripes. As they mature, the stripes fade.

The seedpods are easy to dry for arrangements. Harvest the pods while the stripes are still strong, leaving stems attached. Tie a paper bag around the pods to contain the seeds, then hang them upside down in a dry, airy place out of direct sunlight (such as a covered porch or a corner of the kitchen). The stems and pods will be dry within a week.

Love-in-a-Mist has distinctive seedpods.

Once you introduce Love-in-a-Mist into your garden, expect it to return year after year. This annual reseeds very easily and likes to spread its love around.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

seeds Sacramento spring flowers seed saving spring annuals seedlings seedpods gardening annuals summer garden summer annuals summer flowers flowers

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Find our fall recipes here!

Thanks to Our Sponsor!

Local News

Sites We Like

Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Find our spring recipes here!

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Find our winter recipes here!