This past summer the RCG had a hue of blue in several garden beds. This colour came from the fluffy Bachelor Button flowers which are native to Europe, but they thrive in Canada because they are a very hardy self-seeding plant.
The Bachelor Button has various names including Cornflower, Bluebottle, or Ragged Robin. Cornflower because this plant was a weed in the European corn fields, Bluebottle and Ragged Robin due to the flower’s appearance and Bachelor Button because Victorian-era bachelors would wear a Bachelor Button flower in their coat’s buttonhole to show that they were available for courtship. The blue Bachelor Button is also Germany’s national flower and was painted by Vincent Van Gogh in the painting called Wheat Fields with Cornflowers, 1890.
Through history this plant has had its fair share of time in the spotlight, but it deserves to be talked about as it is also a great pollinator and plant companion. The sweet nectar of the plant attracts bees, butterflies, and ladybugs. Since the plant can bloom in early spring it is a good source of food for the pollinators when other blooms are still scarce. This attraction can help increase flower or vegetable garden yields and provide a natural pest control.
The Bachelor Button is an edible flower that can be used as a garnish on desserts and cheese trays or dried to be used in tea recipes. It also has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and the pigment of the flower can be used to colour foods.
The Bachelor Button can be planted in the spring or fall. It can also be grown in a planter. This plant likes a sunny place with good soil drainage. Plants usually sprout within seven to fourteen days and grow to a height between one to three feet. This plant can also be invasive as it is a self-seeder, you have been warned.
So, this Thanksgiving let’s be thankful for plants like the Bachelor Button that have survived all these years as pollinators, plant companions, and edible flowers that have a bit of folklore attached to its name.
Happy Thanksgiving Renfrew.
The Smiling Gardeners
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