Crocus Astrantia major 'Rubra'

Small, papery, plum-coloured, pincushion-like flowers surrounded by a ruff of wine-tinted bracts, are produced from June to August above deeply lobed, dark green leaves. Although it is an old cottage-garden favourite, this astrantia works equally well in contemporary-style plantings. Use it towards the front of a sunny, yet moist border. Astrantias do not like dry soil. The faded blooms are best cut back close to the ground to prolong flowering.

Astrantias have been cultivated in Britainsince the 16th century and have numerous common names, such as melancholy gentleman, Hatties pincushion and the more well known masterwort.