Nigella, Love-In-A-Mist

Day 289: Although most of the plants in my flower beds are perennials, I like to fill in the open spots with annuals in order to have the freedom to "change it up" a bit each year. Invariably, though, there are a few stragglers from previous year, having re-seeded themselves before I could dead-head or remove pods. There have been a few I wished I'd never planted, and marigolds springs immediately to mind. As much as I love them, I was pulling marigolds for years as they cropped up in unanticipated spots. Likewise, I seem to have permanently installed tall yellow snapdragons when the dark red short ones I'd hoped would re-seed are slowly dying out, and never, ever again will I plant Lobelia in anything but a hanging basket. On the other hand, there are some faces I welcome each year, despite their visits coming as something of a surprise. One of these is Nigella, which bears the charming common name of Love-in-a-mist. I presume the "mist" portion of the nomenclature comes from the ferny, lacy foliage which surrounds the flowers, leaves which dry to a wiry state to become a basket for balloon-like maroon-and-cream seed pods. The pods are lovely in a dried arrangement, and hold their colour for months, but I always leave a few in the garden to assure more Love-in-a-mist next year.