Primlets, a very pretty but extremely tough addition to the family of primroses and polyanthus and at your garden centre now –
- dark green, textured leaved
- subtly scented
- evergreen in milder areas
- a rainbow of colours
- double, rosebud flowers
- edible flowers
- full shade to part/bright shade
- in the garden and great for containers
- flowering December to April/May
- perennial
- add fertiliser and deadhead to prolong flowering
- water from below to prevent fungal problems
- watch out for slugs and snails
Sarah Raven is using these bright, edible flowers in colourful salads, among much else that you may not have considered
http://www.sarahraven.com/how-to/growing-food/5/how-create-delicious-organic-salad
In a recent Telegraph article – Polyanthus rather than Primlet, but still a clarion call to give these bright little things another look –
The Teddington Gardener 