I love everything about Astrantia, their shape and form and ability to work within a naturalistic or more formal planting scheme. The only bad thing about them is that they prefer poor-draining soil and this means that I can’t plant any in my own garden!
Commonly known as Masterwort, Astrantia are herbaceous perennials that grow in full sun or semi-shade and prefer to be planted in a sheltered positon which, as I mentioned earlier, ideally needs to have moisture retentive soil.
Astrantia major has greenish-white flowers flushed with pink and there are many pink vatieties available also. Depending on the variety, most astrantias will grow to a metre in height, producing a good clump of flowers which lasts for a good few weeks in summer.
They work well planted in large clumps or mixed in with other plants to give a more informal look. In the Laurent Perrier Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2009, Luciano Giubbilei used them mixed in with other more dynamic flowers…
It was my favourite garden at Chelsea that year – the strong contemporary lines of the hard landscaping, perfectly balanced with the hedges and trees. The planting was soft and frothy…just like the bubbles of a glass of champagne. Simply stunning!
(Images: Lisa Cox, Ronnie Hermans)
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