Nigella damascena
Origin: United Kingdom
Improvement status: Cultivar
Seeds per packet: ~90
Germination tested 11/2023: 80%
Life cycle: Annual
Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932) was a prolific landscape designer and writer. She was noted for her painterly approach to garden design, and she greatly valued to vivid blue flower of love-in-a-mist. This variety was named after her relatively early in her career, and it's unclear if she was involved in the breeding process or was simply an admirer. 'Miss Jekyll' love-in-a-mist was a winner of the British Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit in 1895, and it is still appreciated today for its prodigious production of beautiful blue flowers atop wispy green foliage. This variety is a statement piece in any garden, but also beloved by florists and interior designers as a cut flower, especially once ripe and dried. The ballon-like seed-pods add an unusual and attractive note to any arrangement. We recommend regular trimming or dead-heading to encourage consistent flower production through the season. The seeds can also be used as a flavoring (in moderation), and have a long history of medicinal use, like love-in-a-mist's cousin Nigella sativa. It is an easy self-seeder, so expect it to return to your garden year after year. Our seed was produced by our friends Kass McKinnon and Clint Freund of Cultivating the Commons in Wisconsin.
Fun fact: Gertrude Jekyll's younger brother Walter was friends with the author Robert Louis Stevenson, who borrowed their family name for his most notorious creation, the main character of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!
