A Complete Guide to Growing and Caring for Love in a Mist Flowers

Love in a mist, also known as Nigella damascena, is an absolutely gorgeous annual flower that has been grown in gardens for centuries. With its delicate, lacey foliage and stunning blue, pink, purple or white blooms, it’s easy to see why gardeners fall in love with this flower year after year. In this complete guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about successfully growing love in a mist flowers in your own garden.

An Overview of Love in a Mist Flowers

Love in a mist is a member of the Ranunculaceae or buttercup family and is native to southern Europe and southwest Asia. The common name “love in a mist” comes from the attractive wreath of fern-like green bracts that surround the flowers and create a misty effect.

Other common names for this annual include devil in the bush, ragged lady and fennel flower. The genus name Nigella comes from the Latin word niger meaning black, referring to the plant’s jet-black seeds. There are around 15 species in the Nigella genus, but N. damascena is the one most commonly grown in gardens.

These charming flowers grow 1-2 feet tall on slender, upright stems. The foliage is very fine and fern-like, similar to the leaves of fennel. The blooms are 1-11⁄2 inches wide with five petal-like sepals surrounding a dense cluster of stamens. The flowers come in shades of blue, pink, purple and white with darker centers.

One of the most unique features of love in a mist is the spiky, inflated seed pods that develop after the blooms fade. These papery pods are green with bold purple stripes, and add nice architectural interest to the garden.

Growing Love in a Mist Flowers from Seed

Love in a mist is easy to grow from seed sown directly in the garden. It can be started indoors 6-8 weeks before the last spring frost, but doesn’t always transplant well due to its long taproot

For best results, sow love in a mist seed directly in the garden once the soil warms up to at least 60°F. Scatter the seeds over the soil surface and lightly cover with about 1⁄8 inch of soil. Space seeds 8-10 inches apart to allow room for the plants to grow.

Love in a mist thrives in full sun and well-drained soil. The seeds should germinate within 2-3 weeks as long as the soil moisture is consistent. Water the plants during dry periods, taking care not to overwater.

Growing and Caring for Love in a Mist Plants

Once the love in a mist seedlings emerge, there isn’t much maintenance required. These are relatively unfussy plants that don’t need to be fertilized or heavily pruned to thrive.

Here are a few growing tips:

• Pinch or snip off spent blooms to encourage more flowers. However, remove faded blooms before the seed pods form if you don’t want love in a mist to self-seed.

• Add more plants every 2-3 weeks for continuous bloom. Love in a mist has a relatively short flowering period, so succession planting extends the season.

• Protect plants from intense afternoon sun in hot summer climates. Afternoon shade will stop flowers from wilting.

• Love in a mist can reseed prolifically. Thin out unwanted volunteer seedlings while they are small.

• Watch for aphids, slugs, snails and spider mites which may munch on plants. Remove pests by hand or use organic insecticidal soap.

How to Harvest Love in a Mist Flowers

The blooms and seed pods of love in a mist make gorgeous additions to fresh and dried flower arrangements.

To harvest flowers for bouquets, use pruners to cut blooming stems in the morning while they are turgid. Remove any leaves that would sit below the water line in the vase.

For dried arrangements, wait until the seed pods have turned papery and striped before cutting. Tie bundles of stems together and hang upside down in a dark, dry area until fully dried.

You can also save love in a mist seeds at the end of the season. Allow pods to dry on plants before collecting seeds. Store in envelopes or jars in a cool location.

Popular Varieties of Love in a Mist Flowers

Some of the most popular cultivars of Nigella damascena include:

• Nigella ‘Miss Jekyll’: Large, semi-double blue blooms on 18 inch stems. Very popular variety.

• Nigella ‘Miss Jekyll Alba’: White version of the beloved ‘Miss Jekyll’ cultivar.

• Nigella ‘Persian Jewels’: Mix of fully double blooms in shades of pink, lavender, purple and white.

• Nigella ‘Mulberry Rose’: Vibrant, deep pink semi-double blooms.

• Nigella ‘Delft Blue’: Pale blue flowers with white centers splash

How to Use Love in a Mist in the Garden

With its airy, delicate beauty, love in a mist is perfectly suited to cottage gardens, borders, wildflower meadows and cutting gardens. It also looks beautiful in containers and window boxes.

Here are some tips for using this lovely annual in garden designs:

• Plant en masse for a bold splash of blue, purple or white bloom.

• Mix colors for a visually striking display. White love in a mist pairs nicely with blue varieties.

• Use as a filler around rose bushes, peonies, daisies and other perennial flowers.

• Underplant with spring bulbs like tulips or daffodils so love in a mist can hide fading foliage.

• Partner with soft-textured plants like salvia, foxglove and coral bells.

• Allow some plants to self-seed each year for easy new plants.

With its carefree growth habit and delicate beauty, love in a mist flower is one of the prettiest and easiest annuals for gardens. Give this charming old-fashioned flower a spot in your spring garden this year and let it weave its misty magic.