Home | Library | All Plant Collections | Love-in-a-mist African Bride
An armload of Love-in-a-Mist African Bride
An armload of Love-in-a-Mist African Bride
A close up of Love-in-a-Mist African Bride
A handful of Love-in-a-Mist African Bride
A close up of Love-in-a-Mist African Bride
Love-in-a-Mist African Bride growing in the field

Love-in-a-mist ‘African Bride’

Nigella papillosa

Features

  • Dryable
  • Easy to grow
  • Foliage & Filler
  • Medium producer
  • Suitable for containers

Description

While this plant looks quite fragile, it’s one of the hardiest early bloomers in the garden. Its brilliant ferny leaves and lacy, star-shaped flowers are framed by a delicate halo of fringed foliage. When left on the plant, the flowers form dramatic black seedpods which add a unique textural element to any bouquet. White blooms with dark spidery centers are both unique and beautiful.

Details

Plant type: hardy annual
Height: 18 to 28 in
Site: full sun
Days to maturity: 65 to 85 days
Plant spacing: 9 in
Pinch: not necessary

Seed Sowing & Growing Notes

Plants dislike being transplanted and do best when direct-seeded into the garden in the fall or early spring. Seed can be tricky to start indoors, so pop seeds into the freezer for 10 to 14 days before sowing to speed up germination.

Harvesting/Vase Life

Harvest flowers when they are three-quarters open, or harvest pods when formed. Fresh flowers have a vase life of 7 days; dried pods last indefinitely. Dry by hanging upside down in a warm, dark place for 2 to 3 weeks.

Details

Description

While this plant looks quite fragile, it’s one of the hardiest early bloomers in the garden. Its brilliant ferny leaves and lacy, star-shaped flowers are framed by a delicate halo of fringed foliage. When left on the plant, the flowers form dramatic black seedpods which add a unique textural element to any bouquet. White blooms with dark spidery centers are both unique and beautiful.

Details

Plant type: hardy annual
Height: 18 to 28 in
Site: full sun
Days to maturity: 65 to 85 days
Plant spacing: 9 in
Pinch: not necessary

Seed Sowing & Growing Notes

Plants dislike being transplanted and do best when direct-seeded into the garden in the fall or early spring. Seed can be tricky to start indoors, so pop seeds into the freezer for 10 to 14 days before sowing to speed up germination.

Harvesting/Vase Life

Harvest flowers when they are three-quarters open, or harvest pods when formed. Fresh flowers have a vase life of 7 days; dried pods last indefinitely. Dry by hanging upside down in a warm, dark place for 2 to 3 weeks.

Sources

How to Grow

How to Grow

Fabulous Foliages and Fillers
Fabulous Foliages and Fillers

Having a steady supply of foliage is key to successfully making bouquets throughout the season—in spring, during the long months of summer, and into early fall. In this post, I’ll share the best staple foliages and foliage-like fillers, along with several of my favorite varieties.
Easy-to-grow Hardy Annuals
Easy-to-grow Hardy Annuals

Hardy annuals are some of the hardest-working, most productive plants in the late spring/early summer cutting garden. They are the first annuals to bloom in the spring, and their ability to withstand cold temperatures, thrive with minimal care, and produce abundantly for weeks from a single sowing make them an indispensable addition to the cut flower garden.
Grasses, Grains, and Pods
Grasses, Grains, and Pods

These unique textural elements add interest and depth to any arrangement with their rustic appeal, and they produce an abundance of cutting material from midsummer through autumn. In addition, many of these materials can be dried and used in autumn wreaths and arrangements, making them doubly valuable in the cutting garden.
Discovering Dried Flowers
Discovering Dried Flowers

Many cut flower varieties can be used either fresh or dried. Drying flowers means you can preserve the abundance from your garden to be enjoyed later when nothing is blooming. There are so many ways to use dried flowers, seed pods, and grasses: in late autumn arrangements, adorning fresh holiday wreaths, or even mixed with fresh blooms.
Fabulous Foliages and Fillers
Fabulous Foliages and Fillers
Easy-to-grow Hardy Annuals
Easy-to-grow Hardy Annuals
Grasses, Grains, and Pods
Grasses, Grains, and Pods
Discovering Dried Flowers
Discovering Dried Flowers

Fall Mini Course

Learn how to successfully dig, divide & store dahlias for an abundance of blooms year after year

In our free, three-part video series, you’ll learn how and when to dig up your dahlia tuber clumps, how to divide dahlias to multiply your stock, and how to successfully store dahlias for an abundance of blooms year after year.