Michauxia

For the gardener looking for something truly unusual, Michauxia campanuloides is a spectacular biennial from the campanula family. In its second year, it produces a tall, branching stem (up to 1.5m) covered in large, white, reflexed flowers that look like a cross between a lily and a passionflower. Each flower has dramatic, protruding stamens and petals that curve backwards. It is a high-impact plant that requires a warm, sheltered spot in full sun to perform its best in the UK. Because it is native to the Eastern Mediterranean, it demands excellent drainage and can be a bit fussy during a cold, wet winter; it is generally rated H4. Sown in early summer, it forms a large, bristly rosette of lobed leaves before its mid-summer theatrical display the following year. It is a fantastic conversation piece for a sunny border or a Mediterranean-style planting scheme, though it is relatively rare in cultivation.

Sun: Full sun.

Soil: Well-drained, light soil.

Hardiness: H4 — down to −10°C.

Flowering: Jul, Aug.