This is my first year of growing moluccella laevis (Bells of Ireland) and I honestly confess to not having known them until my man arrived with a beautiful bouquet in his arms for me, which included these vivid green flowers, that immediately rang my bell..

I knew it was love at first sight (still talking about the flowers) and I had to have them and get to know them by growing them in my home garden. So I went online and found Benjamin Runyard of Higgledy Garden who sold me some seeds at the beginning of this year and I got stuck in as soon as I could. Remembering that Monty Don had said on Gardeners’ World that he starts his seed sowing on February 14, I thought I’d get myself ready for there abouts too.

I sowed them in my greenhouse and raised them in my sunny south facing garden and watched them grow and take on their beautiful vivid dusky lime green. Then the rains came and came and kept on coming and I watched them get paler and paler and paler! Until, well, I stopped seeing green and they became white, almost translucent, which I think looks absolutely fabulous! So, if you want to grow this rather chic gothic look, then my advice to you is water, water, water and hopefully by next autumn you too will have beautiful gothic moluccella laevis to be very proud of!