Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing'
- Position: full sun or partial shade
- Soil: well-drained soil
- Rate of growth: fast
- Flowering period: May to July
- Hardiness: fully hardy
An elegant purple form of common cow parsley, this has pretty clusters of tiny, creamy-white flowers in late spring and early summer, highlighted by the lacy, deeply cut dark purple foliage. This plant is biennial or a short-lived perennial, but it self seeds freely unless you remove the spent flower heads. This makes it a perfect plant for a wild garden or meadow, and an effective companion to ornamental grasses. - Garden care: Support with brushwood or link stakes in spring before the flowers appear. In autumn cut it back to just above ground level and apply a generous layer of mulch around the roots.
Eventual height & spread
"The sophisticated, dark-leaved form of our native cow parsley has delicate, white lacy umbels that are perfect for wilder areas where soft blowsy planting is needed"
Goes well with
Prairie
Indulge a passion for ornamental grasses by creating a prairie- or meadow-style garden. They can be richly planted with native wildflowers or a selection of complementary perennials and self-seeding annuals to create a naturalistic planting effect.
Read full articleUmbelliferas
Everyone's in love with frothy planting these days, light and airy concoctions that seem to float through the border like a soft summer breeze. Many of these gauzy beauties are umbellifers, members of the cow parsley tribe. They are blessed with tiny flo
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