As you can imagine, I haven’t bought many plants during the pandemic. Recently we have ventured out to a few of our favourite nurseries and we have treated ourselves to one or two new plants.
This pretty scabious is one of the plants that appealed to me most. It’s an undeniably feminine looking flower, with all those frilly petals in a sweet shade of pink. I’m sure it will add something special to a border that has lots of smaller, simpler flowers.
Reading about it tells me that I can expect flowers for a long time over the year – right through from spring into autumn. (I’d noticed this long flowering period from the other plants from the scabious family already in the garden.)
‘Flutter Rose Pink’ should be happy here because it likes sun and good drainage. (It’s said to be drought-tolerant, which makes it very suitable for our East-Anglian climate.) The other scabious relatives in the garden include a smaller Scabiosa columbaria in a pale blue, the tall yellow Cephalaria gigantea, Knautia macedonica in reds and pinks and a very dark red Scabiosa atropurpurea. All of them do well here and generously seed themselves around the garden. I’m hoping the new scabious will do the same!
My new plant is a treat for me but will be one for the pollinators here too. I’ve found that the various scabious are extremely popular with bees, hoverflies and butterflies. Because they keep flowering until late in the year, they are a reliable food source for these insects. ( That’s especially true of the knautia, which can produce flowers right up to the start of winter. It’s great for frosted-flower photos and feeds the latest of bees.)
Now I just have to decide where to plant my new scabious…
Ann Mackay: Inspired by Nature 
It’s amazing how much the outside, ruffly petals look like our crepe myrtle flowers. It certainly is pink! I like the more structural bud as much as the flower.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve never seen crepe myrtle, so I looked it up. Wow! They are extraordinarily bright and frilly – they make me think of bougainvillea. I like the scabious buds too and Scabiosa stellata has wonderful seed heads too. (I must try that one!)
LikeLike
How lovely for you and how lovely for the bees!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It makes me very happy that the bees and I can enjoy the same flowers. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is a beauty, Ann. May it spread like its relatives and keep the bees and butterflies happy and humming for months to come.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a lovely wish, Tanja! I accept it with gratitude! And I reckon the bees agree. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Such a sweet texture and color combo.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Flower! I was captivated by it… 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is a beauty. I have a ‘butterfly blue’ but it looks quite pink to me. My darker one, ‘Beaujolais Bonnets’, unfortunately succumbed to the wet. I grew a much taller pure white a few years ago which I thought was exceptionally beautiful. They are lovely plants and your photos are gorgeous.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Jude! 🙂 The white sounds really lovely and I would certainly be tempted to buy it. Scabious does well in my garden…thank goodness something likes the dry conditions! (So many other plants can struggle with the frequent droughty spells.)
LikeLike
Love this Flutter Rose Pink bloom – your garden must look great with all the different colors! I think I could have a totally pink garden and be happy! But I like color too! Nice images Ann!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Right now it is looking colourful because everything has gone a bit big and wild after a rainy spell. And I’m loving the effect!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pink to the max and, as always, a lovely high key portrait of this beauty, Ann.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Steve! It’s trying to outpink the other pinks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Something very sweet indeed. I love scabious for their colours, textures, leaves, seedheads, and their airiness – but it is a bit too wet here for them to survive for long.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am grateful for them here because so many plants can’t cope well with our low rainfall. The scabious family seems very at home here and pop up new seedlings here and there – I hope this one will!
LikeLiked by 1 person