Sacramento Digs Gardening: Strange seedpods add spice to summer garden

"Persian Jewels" variety of Love-in-a-Mist includes several pink and purples variations. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Love-in-a-Mist produces pretty flowers and a bonus

Are those pod people in my plot? Space aliens have invaded my garden!

No, it's just the distinctive and decorative seedpods of Love-in-a-Mist.

A member of the buttercup family, Love-in-a-Mist is an old-fashioned favorite, native to Southern Europe and Northern Africa. This annual blooms abundantly in late spring and early summer.

Nigella, its botanical name, was derived from the Latin word for black, "niger," and refers to the plant's intensely black seeds. With an oregano-like flavor, those aromatic seeds are used as a spice in Turkey and the Middle East.

The Victorians fell in love with Love-in-a-Mist as a cut flower and for its decorative striped seedpods, which can be dried and used in arrangements. Its nickname refers to the light green, lacy bracts that surround the flowers, which range from white to dark blue, with several shades of pink or purple in between.

The most common Love-in-a-Mist is brilliant blue. Popular varieties include true blue "Miss Jekyll" and "Oxford Blue.

Love-in-a-Mist was popular with the Victorians.

" "Persian Jewels," which started my Nigella collection, features a mix of pink and lavender shades.

The large seedpods are actually five seedpods fused together. More than 2 inches long, they usually start green with purple, burgundy or bronze stripes. As they mature, the stripes fade.

The seedpods are easy to dry for arrangements. Harvest the pods while the stripes are still strong, leaving stems attached. Tie a paper bag around the pods to contain the seeds, then hang them upside down in a dry, airy place out of direct sunlight (such as a covered porch or a corner of the kitchen). The stems and pods will be dry within a week.

Love-in-a-Mist has distinctive seedpods.

Once you introduce Love-in-a-Mist into your garden, expect it to return year after year. This annual reseeds very easily and likes to spread its love around.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

seeds Sacramento spring flowers seed saving spring annuals seedlings seedpods gardening annuals summer garden summer annuals summer flowers flowers

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Food in My Back Yard Series

April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)

April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers

April 8: When to plant summer vegetables

April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths

March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth

March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds

March 4: Potatoes from the garden

Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space

Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting

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Garden Checklist for week of April 27

Once the clouds clear, get to work. Spring growth is in high gear.

* Set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* Weed, weed, weed! Don’t let unwanted plants go to seed.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Start thinning fruit that's formed on apple and stone fruit trees -- you'll get larger fruit at harvest (and avoid limb breakage) if some is thinned now. The UC recommendation is to thin fruit when it is about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Peaches and nectarines should be thinned to about 6 inches apart; smaller fruit such as plums and pluots can be about 4 inches apart. Apricots can be left at 3 inches apart. Apples and pears should be thinned to one fruit per cluster of flowers, 6 to 8 inches apart.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

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