HONESTY LUNARIA ANNUA

COMMON it may be, but Honesty has enormous garden value. The strident purple — or sometimes white — flowers of Lunaria annua are carried on branched stems above large leaves whose margins are serrated.

As they ripen, the seed pods become translucent. Eventually, the seeds become visible through the tissue, earning the plant its name, — Honesty.

There are strains with variegated leaves. Soughtafter Chedglow has dark leaves and purple-maroon flowers.

Honesty thrives in almost any soil in sun or partial shade and is self-sowing.