Clarkia unguiculata Excellent Mix Seeds - Mountain Garland

Clarkia unguiculata 'Excellent Mix' features masses of silky, frilled blooms on tall, elegant stems all summer long. This collection brings together an amazing array of colours, from red to bright pink, creamy white, salmon or mauve. Effortlessly romantic and easy to grow, ideal for brightening up summer beds, borders and containers. Direct sow in spring in well-drained, loose, fertile, cool to dry soil.

Clarkia unguiculata, commonly known as mountain garland, is an annual that belongs to the Onagraceae family and is native to California. Easy to grow from seed, the vigorous, bushy plants grow to about 50 cm tall and 30 cm wide in one season. Each pyramid-shaped plant is covered in summer with elegant spikes of silky, frilled blooms in a host of soft or bold colours. Flowers last from June to September depending on the sowing date; it is possible to extend the blooming period by staggering your sowing. Flowers are followed by seed capsules which split open and release numerous seeds when mature.

Once an ornamental garden favourite, this easy-to-grow plant deserves a true comeback. Ideal for creating patches of colour in beds and borders, Clarkia is very versatile, suitable for growing just about anywhere - from rock gardens to flower pots. It combines well with lighter, airier plants such as small ornamental grasses (Stipa tenuifolia, barbata, pennata or Mulhenbergia capillaris), flax, catmint, annual poppies or Love-in-a-mist. For ever-changing bedding schemes all summer long, pair with oriental poppies and asters. And last but not least, it is a fabulous cut flower – what’s not to love!