Flowering flax 'Bright Eyes'

Linum grandiflorum 'Bright Eyes' is a charming and easy-to-grow hardy annual that provides a cheerful display in sunny UK gardens. This cultivar produces a profusion of simple, five-petalled flowers that are crisp white with a striking, deep maroon-red eye at the centre. The plants have a slender, upright habit with narrow, grey-green leaves, reaching a height of about 30-45cm. Because it has a relatively short life cycle, it is often best to sow seeds in successive batches every few weeks from March to May to ensure a continuous flowering period throughout the summer. It is an ideal plant for filling gaps at the front of a border, for rock gardens, or for an informal meadow-style planting. It thrives in well-drained soil and requires a fully sunny position to encourage the flowers to open. Although the individual blooms only last a day, they are produced in such abundance that the plant always looks full of life. It is very drought-tolerant once established.

Sun: Full sun.

Soil: Well-drained, sandy or loamy soil.

Hardiness: H4 — down to −10°C.

Flowering: Jun, Jul, Aug.