Does any one know what kind of plant this is?

R. P
by R. P
  13 answers
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Jun 29, 2012
    Is that as open as the flower head gets? Do you have a photo that shows the leaves better?
  • Linda R Linda R on Jun 29, 2012
    I think it might be Nigella damascena , also called Love in a mist.Nice picture too.
  • Becky H Becky H on Jun 29, 2012
    I wish I knew! Those are a highly unusual looking bloom, but quite attractive!!
  • Walter Reeves Walter Reeves on Jun 29, 2012
    Linda R is correct. Great plant!
  • Kim Kim on Jun 29, 2012
    Love in a Mist (Nigella)
  • Lilli H Lilli H on Jun 29, 2012
    Whatever it is, I like it!
  • R. P R. P on Jun 29, 2012
    Thank you all for responding. A friend from the local gardening shop saw my photo and informed me that it is indeed called 'Love in the Mist' or 'devil-in-the-bush' and the proper name is Nigella damascena. You were spot on Linda R. - Thank you!!! I wish it was my plant, it belongs to a neighbor and he had no idea what it was. :)
  • Jeanne J Jeanne J on Jun 29, 2012
    Love my Love in a Mist and hope it comes back this year, seems as if the False Indigo may have taken it over - along with most everything else. It has become it's own little forest - full of toads ;).
  • Becky H Becky H on Jun 30, 2012
    Providing us with a name is nice, but how about more info.! What zones will it grow in and what are its growing requirements?
    • See 1 previous
    • Becky H Becky H on Aug 08, 2016
      Thank you!
  • Cindy P Cindy P on Jun 30, 2012
    From Wikipedia: It is native to southern Europe (but adventive in more northern countries of Europe), north Africa and southwest Asia. It is also commonly grown in gardens in North America. It is found on neglected, damp patches of land. The plant's common name comes from the flower being nestled in a ring of multifid, lacy bracts. It is also sometimes called devil-in-the-bush. It grows to 20–50 cm tall, with pinnately divided, thread-like, alternate leaves. The flowers are most commonly different shades of blue, but can be white, pink, or pale purple; with five to 25 sepals. The actual petals are located at the base of the stamens and are minute and clawed. The sepals are the only colored part of the perianth. The four to five carpels of the compound pistil have each an erect style. The flowers blossom in May and June. The fruit is a large and inflated capsule, growing from a compound ovary, and is composed of several united follicles, each containing numerous seeds. This is rather exceptional for a member of the buttercup family. The capsule becomes brown in late summer. The plant self-seeds, growing on the same spot year after year. They are much used in dried flower bouquets. The flower has been grown in English cottage gardens since Elizabethan times. The most common variety is 'Miss Jekyll' which has blue flowers, but the more recent 'Persian Jewels' is a mixture of white, pink, lavender and blue flowers. 'Persian Rose' is pale pink. Other cultivars are 'Albion', 'Blue Midget', 'Cambridge Blue', 'Mulberry Rose', and 'Oxford Blue'. The 'Dwarf Moody Blue' is around six inches high.
  • Becky H Becky H on Jun 30, 2012
    Thanks Cindy!
  • Sandra Whitmarsh Sandra Whitmarsh on Jun 18, 2016
    Love in the mist. Re-seeds and comes back every year. Mine are blue. Blue flowers first then the seed pods-nice for dry arrangements.