Nigella is a popular cut flower that’s long lasting and great for arranging or drying. Also known as Love in a Mist, these hardy annuals take their name from the lovely delicate tendrils that surround each flower head.
Seed Sowing
Nigella is a hardy annual that can be sown in September to overwinter for early blooms in spring. Alternatively sow in modules indoors from February. Cover seeds with a fine layer of compost. Nigella can be direct sown outdoors from April in rows 30cm apart.
Transplanting
If sowing in modules, transplant outside once seedlings are established, spacing 15cm apart. Nigella can also be grown in containers.
Plant Care
Keep the area weed-free and watered during hot spells. You can mulch around the plants to keep in moisture and prevent weeds. Deadhead to prolong flowering. Stems may need support, especially in windy growing conditions.
Challenges
Nigella are generally pest and disease-free.
Harvest
Pick the flowers often to encourage more flowers to form; they will usually flower for around 8 weeks. Ideally harvest the flowers in the morning when temperatures are low and plant water content is high. Plants will arrange better if left to sit in water for a few hours after cutting.
The empty seed heads also make a wonderful dried flower. To dry, hang upside down in bunches in a cool, dark and well-ventilated space. Handle carefully once dried as they tend to be quite brittle.
The empty seed heads of Nigella also make a wonderful ornamental dried flower.
Culinary Ideas And Uses
Nigella petals are edible and make a delightful addition to salads, desserts or ice cubes with their pop of colour and delicate feathery petals.
Seed Saving
Harvest the individual seedheads as they’ve formed and begin to dry. Lay out on a sheet to dry further and rub with your hands to release the seeds.
Store in a cool dark place; seeds should remain viable for around 5 years.
Nigella will self-seed if left in place in your garden.
Most popular Nigella
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Nigella – Love-in-a-Mist (Organic)
£2.34 Add to basketNigella – Love-in-a-Mist (Organic)
Pale blue, pink and white flowers on upright, bushy plants with feathery foliage. Nigella flowers or ‘love-in-a-mist’ are a popular and traditional cottage garden flower. The blue, pink and white solitary flowers appear to sit on a bed of ‘misty’ foliage, hence the common name. The plants get about 50cm high and the blossom is followed by a decorative, inflated seed capsule that also makes a nice addition to cut flower arrangements.
(Approximate seed count – 200)
£2.34 -
Nigella – African Bride (Organic)
£2.25 Add to basketNigella – African Bride (Organic)
White petals with contrasting dark maroon spidery centres borne on delicate green foliage. We totally love this variety and regularly had to stop and admire it as we walked past it in the field. It’s a really prolific producer of some of the most elegant blooms we have ever grown.
The flowers have a great vase life and develop into striking dark ornamental seed pods after the petals have dropped.
(Approximate seed count – 200)£2.25 -
Nigella – Miss Jekyll (Organic)
£2.35 Add to basketNigella – Miss Jekyll (Organic)
Pale blue mostly double flowers, sit atop a misty spray of delicate green foliage. A delightful sight in any garden or allotment and an excellent crop for attracting beneficial pollinators into your space. ‘Miss Jekylls’ captivating blooms are perfection in borders for cut flower arrangements and after the pods swell and dry the edible seeds can be harvested utilising the attractive seed head for dry flower crafts.
This delightful annual has stood the test of time amongst garden designers, its is after all named after one of the greatest female garden designers of the 19th century whose influence is still very much alive in modern garden design today.
(Approximate seed count – 200)£2.35 -
Nigella – Midnight (Organic)
£2.25 Add to basketNigella – Midnight (Organic)
Rich dark purple flowers with spidery seed pods. This is a striking variety of nigella ideal for florestry due to its deep colours and quirky seed pods, which can be used both fresh and dried.
(Approximate seed count – 250)£2.25
