Centaurea bella

Centaurea bella, also known as Elegant Centaury, is a small perennial that thrives in dry soil, forming a beautiful dense cushion. Its creeping stems root themselves upon contact with the ground, allowing the plant to gradually become a persistent evergreen ground cover. Its velvety and grey-green foliage is adorned with a lovely spring flowering head of light pink-lilac pompoms held by upright stems in spring. Particularly undemanding, simple and low-maintenance, it will find its place in a dry garden bed, a garden without a gardener, or even in a rockery.

Centaurea bella is an herbaceous perennial, woody at the base. It belongs to the Asteraceae family, just like cornflowers and sunflowers. It is native to the Caucasus. The plant forms a dense carpet-like clump, with a habit reaching 12 to 15cm (5 to 6in) in height for the foliage, 25 to 30cm (10 to 12in) when flowering, and about 30cm (12in) wide. Its prostrate stems bear numerous dentate, rounded, serrated leaves covered in a downy layer. They are green-grey on the upper side and grey on the underside. Flowering occurs as early as April in warm climates, and in May-June in cooler regions. If the summer is not too dry, flowering continues in July-August. Stiff stems emerge from the foliage, bearing flower heads at their tips that resemble small fluffy pink-purple pompoms with a creamy centre. The roots of this perennial secrete a substance that prevents adventive plants from germinating.

Elegant Centaury is a hardy plant that is easy to grow in well-drained, even poor and rocky soil. It thrives in scree slopes, light soil beds, and well-exposed areas, alongside bushy salvias and gauras. It also works well with other plants with grey foliage such as Tanacetum densum, Thymus ciliatus, or Achillea umbellata. This plant particularly complements large-flowered perennials like German irises. At the base of shrubby peonies, it will form an elegant ground cover from which the flowering shrub and insects will emerge. Ideal for dry gardens, rockeries, or sunny slopes where it will perfectly fulfil its role as a ground cover.