Oenothera - Evening Primrose

Few perennial flowers offer us such a sparkling yellow, subtle shades of dawn or sunset, as the evening primroses. As they choose the evening to bloom, in a sweet sugary scent, they are nicknamed "Evening Primroses". They belong to the Onagraceae family, or Oenotheraceae, one of whose representatives, the evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), is particularly present in our fallow fields, on abandoned land or by the roadside. Once the fireworks are over, in autumn, they still enchant us with their foliage in astonishing colours. The choice is vast: from the dwarf Oenothera pumila, Oenothera macrocarpa (for drought) which work wonders in rock gardens, to the bushy Oenothera berlandieri with carmine flowers, or the deliciously scented flowers of Oenothera odorata which fade to salmon pink, these easy-to-grow plants, in the sun, deserve to be welcomed into our gardens.