Awesome astrantias
They f lower for months and cope with any weather – no wonder these stars are on the up
WHEN Margery Fish was being guided around a West Country garden back in the late 1950s, she spotted an unfamiliar astrantia in a bed. The gardening guru must have been bubbling with excitement because the owner dug up a clump for her to take home.
Instead of featuring small, star-shaped, symmetrical blooms with short pointed petals, this variety had a more ruffled appearance, boasting larger flowers with narrow petals about three times as long as normal. The blooms were white with tips that looked like they had been dipped in green paint.
‘I have never been able to find any name for this truly decorative flower, nor does it seem to be included in any dictionary,’ wrote Fish in 1961. For years it was known as Astrantia ‘Margery Fish’ but now goes by the moniker Astrantia major subsp. involucrata ‘Shaggy’.
‘Shaggy’ describes perfectly the blooms, and it was this unusual name that piqued my interest when I clocked it among a display of perennials at a flower show many years ago. Until then I was largely ignorant about these clumpforming herbaceous perennials.
I’m not the only one to discover them relatively recently. Although we’ve been growing astrantias in Britain since Tudor times, they’ve kept a relatively low profile with only a few tastemakers giving them space – Vita Sackville-West and Christopher Lloyd were among notable devotees.
Since the turn of the 21st Century, though, interest in astrantias has spiralled. Part of their appeal is a long flowering period. The sprays of white, pink, red or purple flowers appear as early as May with some varieties, and will continue to turn heads until early autumn. Ranging in height from 1ft to 3ft, with a similar spread, branching stems are held over mounds of deeply cut leaves.
At first glance astrantias appear delicate, but they cope admirably with wind and rain, and can take temperatures down to -20C.
Showy varieties include Astrantia major ‘ Large White’, which carries its green tipped, white flowers on 3ft stems in summer, while similar sized ‘ Buckland’ has blooms with silvery bracts around a dusky pink centre. A. major var. rosea boasts clusters of rich pink blooms surrounded by a ring of soft pink bracts. Astrantia major ‘Roma’ is a taller variety with stunning shell-pink flowers. But those who prefer something darker should try red ‘Hadspen Blood’ or ‘Ruby Wedding’ for its purplish flowers displayed on red stems. ‘Venice’ has deep ruby blooms. Although their foliage is pleasant enough, most astrantias are grown for their flowers. ‘ Sunningdale Variegated’ is an exception thanks to its lobed green leaves that are edged with yellow. Astrantias are really easy-going, flowering well in either sun or partial shade. Moist but well-drained soil is preferred by the majority, although some will cope with drier conditions. Sadly, these plants won’t prosper for long in containers.
Use plants as part of a traditional cottage garden display, teaming them with eryngiums, geraniums and ranunculus against a backdrop of roses.
For a more contemporary look, let them rub shoulders with heuchera, phormium and ornamental grasses.