Thalictrum Chantilly Lace - Meadow-rue

Thalictrum Chantilly Lace is a variety of Meadow-rue which is compact with many summer flowers in a beautiful mauve-pink to purple-pink shade. This lovely shade-loving perennial develops crowned floral stems with large inflorescences composed of small flowers in cups, open on pale lime-green stamens.  The medium green finely cut foliage, which strongly resembles that of columbines, is attractive and contributes to the delicacy and grace of the plant. An ideal plant to lighten up semi-shaded borders, in humus-rich and moist soil. 

Thalictrum Chantilly Lace is a horticultural creation from 2020 by the English nursery 'Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants'. Its wild ancestor, the columbine-leaved meadow-rue, is native to damp and shaded mountain meadows in Europe and Asia. It belongs to the buttercup family, just like anemones, clematis, and... columbines.  This tall herbaceous perennial with a rhizomatous base can sometimes take time to establish, but its beauty is worth the wait. The Chantilly Lace variety stands out for its lower habit and its beautiful purple-pink flowers. When mature, the plant reaches about 35 cm (14in) in all directions. Its medium green leaves with undulate edges are divided into obovate leaflets on either side of the central vein. The foliage is very similar to garden columbines.  Appearing in June-July, the flowers are arranged in large paniculate clusters forming clouds of single cup-shaped flowers. They are composed of violet petals with long radiating stamens.  The stems that bear them are strong enough to not be staked.  The above-ground vegetation, deciduous, dries up in autumn and regrows in spring. 

It is in the border or middle of the flower bed that this beautiful Chantilly Lace meadow-rue finds its place. Its flowering stems are perfect for making summer bouquets, with roses or peonies for example. It thrives in lightly sunny or semi-shaded areas of the garden. A damp and deep soil allows it to grow vigorously, but it also tolerates summer heat, as long as it is watered from time to time at the end of the day. It pairs very well with lilies, as well as with ferns, hostas, bellflowers, meadowsweets, rodgersias, and perennial geraniums.