I think I sowed Hesperis matronalis (aka Sweet Rocket) a few years ago and now this chirpy biennial (or short-lived perennial) luckily self seeds in a wild area in the front garden corner plot. I do remember that Sweet Rocket was all the rage at Chelsea about that time and it must have been this that inspired me to get sowing in the first place. Not only does it look good, but it’s been flowering for weeks and the scent is simultaneously sweet and fresh and provides a heavenly welcome home.
Hesperis matronalis grows to about 3-4 feet in sun or part shade, comes in violet and white, and now is the perfect time to sow for flowering next summer. It’s great for bees, butterflies and moths and although it’s a traditional cottage garden favourite, sits happily amongst thistles, brambles and wild roses in this part of the garden. I love it!
Lovely! I have a load of Hesperis Matronalis growing wild in my garden. Do you know that the flowers are edible? I put them in salads; my four-year-old especially loves them.
Hi Andeae, Thanks for letting me know about the flowers-good to know! I think I read on Nicky’s Nursery website that the young leaves can be eaten as a cress substitute before the plant flowers too.
Isn’t it daft that these plants go in and out of fashion while remaining constantly lovely? Must get some. Great to see you last week. No need for supper that evening!
Hi Helen, it is weird how fashions change, but I may still not have ‘discovered’ it if it hadn’t been so popular….Lovely to see you to. Great food! (and still dreaming about the walled garden!).
That is a lovely plant Naomi, very soft and a great cottage garden flower, thanks for sharing! š
Hi Judith-beautiful and scented-what more could you ask for!
Gorgeous !
Did you sow them direct or in a seed tray?
I think I sowed them into a seed tray as it’s easier to plant them exactly where you want them (until they self seed this is!).
We found it growing wild – or seeded from gardens – all over North Michigan in the US a couple of weeks ago
Hi Tessa, there’s an interesting comment below from Leslie in the USA saying how invasive they’ve become. I guess if there’s no competition and the right pollinators, they can get out of control…..
Have lots of it threading through borders. Scent particularly lovely on a warm evening. Visited Kiftsgate and Hidcote last week and there was masses there. My preference is for the white as I have a lot of mauve and blue going on. Needless to say, I have mostly mauve! It is interesting how plants come in and out if fashion, is it dictated by the big Dutch growers? Or does one designer decide alliums are just the thing and a few years later they percolate down?
Hi Anne, Good question and not sure if it’s designers, growers (or even gardeners and writers-such as the late great Christopher Llloyd) who create fashions in the plant world.
Sorry – should read ‘alliums or whatever’
Just a reminder to your readers that H. matronalis is a terribly invasive plant here in the U.S., taking over native woodlands and woodland edges. So please don’t plant it here. We are in a constant battle against it in our neighborhood in the middle of an Arboretum.
Hi Leslie, good to know about this. I’m reading a great book called ‘A sting in the tale’ by Dave Goulson. It’s a wonderful book about his study of bees and at one point he talks about about how the introduction of non native flora and non native bees can cause unforeseen and large scale problems in their new environment.
Would love some of this. Or should I not? Is there a danger of invasiveness in gardens in London streets?
Hi Nicolette, I think London streets could only be improved if this plant managed to colonise the city’s tree pits and front gardens, but I think there’s plenty of competition to keep it under control. The thistles are giving it a good run for their money in this space!
Have masss of the white variety, makes beautiful bunches of cut flowers with pink campion, alchemilla mollis and single feverfew.
Hi Deborah, Sounds like a heavenly combination.
This is the nicest rocket flower I’ve seen! Looks great. Very tempted to grow some for the scent š
Hi Anna, lovely to hear from you! The scent is just delicious. Cheers me every time I pass by and is particularly strong in the evening. I’d highly recommend it.
I used to grow Sweet Rocket a long while ago, I had forgotten about it. You have reminded me of how lovely it is. I must get some seed.
Hi Zora, Some of my plants soon to set seed, so think I’ll get sowing too for other parts of the garden next year too.
Hi there, thanks for this – it’s inspired me to buy some for my (slightly unkempt) front garden! I rarely do anything with it, so would like to turn it into a wildlife patch where I can just let the plants do their thing. I just read that you can mix it in with annual seeds and scatter them, although I imaging sowing them in trays is likely to give better results.
Hi Rebecca, Slightly unkempt sounds perfect for a wildlife patch, although I do get told (off!) by some neighbours that my wildlife corner is a bit messy-can’t please everyone all of the time!
I think mixing and scattering sounds like a great idea, although sown as an annual next spring (as opposed to sowing as a a biennial now), they probably won’t be as tall as 3 or 4 ft. I directly sowed an annual seed mix last year from Pictorial meadows and was really impressed at how successful the flowers were. You could always sow a few seeds in a pot or tray now for more established plants for next year too.
Lovely!
[…] made the decision not to clothe the beds with tulips, but instead, concentrated on foxgloves and sweet rocket (Hesperis matronalis). On entering the garden you couldn’t helped being wowed by this heavenly display. I also […]