PLANT OF THE WEEK

Wild and shady flower for a woodland garden

THIS is red campion, Silene dioica, a perennial flower of shady places, woods and hedgerows where it can easily run riot. But it’s a pretty little thing, and if you have a woodland garden you may be happy to have it blooming away from June till September. Or you may prefer it to stay out in the wild where it flourishes. Its hairy stems can reach three feet in height, and are topped with numerous small, rose-pink flowers. The seed capsule is the egg-shaped growth behind the petals.