White Lychnis

Lychnis

Silene coronaria 'Alba'

(sy-LEE-nee) (kor-oh-NAR-ee-uh)

Synonyms: Rose Campion, Lychnis coronaria

We finally got around to harvesting the last seed from the Lychnis, Primula and Foxglove and though it was little late we still scored a big bag of seed. Over the years I have learned a lot about seed production and harvesting. Since all these plants and flowers are biennial it is important not to remove too much of the seed or the original planting areas will suffer. One little thing I have learned is there are quite a few insects that seem to make living on perennial seeds. Several times on Friday I broke open seedpods only to have some sort of insect pop put with the seed. You probably would have been laughing at the startled reaction and quick shake of the hands when that happens.

This flower has been a joy to have in the garden. It is self-seeding but stays in its place for the most part. This one is from a patch of almost pure white ones, which I haven’t seen too often. Some of the plants in that area sometimes produces flowers with the slightest of blush pink on them and the others are white. There is a nice color range of pink and white through the other plantings. They have colonized some rocky and dry ground and not much would grow there otherwise.