Flowers are not the only attraction in winter gardens. Biennial honesty (Lunaria annua) is a good example of a plant that keeps delivering after its flowers have passed. Once the petals have fallen, enchanting disc-shaped seed-pods are formed. These develop through late-summer, the seeds within becoming more prominent, particularly when backlit by the sun.
The pods take on a purplish hue in autumn, then dry and discolour to dirty brown. But don’t despair. Rub them gently between your fingers and the outer brown layers will fall away, revealing silver discs, and allowing you to collect seed. Stems can be cut and brought indoors for decoration, or just pushed into borders, to add interest and plug gaps. Even on dull December days the seed-pods of honesty look charming, adding interest when many other worthy perennials have given up the ghost for winter.
Seed will naturally fall onto surrounding soil, sowing itself, with new seedlings emerging next year. Alternatively, seed can be saved to raise new plants in spring. Honesty can be established to ensure new seedlings every year, much as you would with other biennials, such as foxgloves.
Honesty is well worth a place in any garden – I’d recommend adding it to your seed order right away. You’ll find varieties available offering the usual purple flowers or a pure white form, and even one that produces attractive variegated foliage (not sure if this is quite to my taste).
If budgets are currently tight it’s worth asking gardening friends whether they have any honesty in their gardens, and begging a couple of pod-bearing stems. I feel a bit of cash-free trading coming on!
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These seed pods are lovely, and children at my local primary school have used them to make their Christmas decorations.
I have one plant which has flowered again after producing seed. It still has some new growth on it. Could this be a sport that turns out to be perennial? How exciting! I’m keeping a close eye on it.
Has anyone come across a yellow flowered form of Honesty which may have been dropped by birds? The seed pods are the same as the common variety.
Reply to Olwen: No I haven’t heard of this, but would love to see a picture if you have a yellow form. You can email it to me at adam.pasco@bbc.com. Looking forward to hearing more.