Have you ever grown Orlaya? It’s quite new to me – I’ve only grown it for a couple of years yet I am sure that it’s a plant I’ll be growing again.
Orlaya is an Umbellifer – like Anthriscus sylvestris (Cow Parsley) and Foeniculum vulgare. (Fennel) It is much shorter growing to 60cm/two feet tall maximum. I think it’s prettier too with large outer petals framing the flower like a lace edge. In fact it’s commonly called the White Lace Flower. It has fine dark green ferny foliage and flowers for months. What’s more it’s easy to grow and very good as a cut flower.
I’ve grown it with Salvia viridis this year (Clary Sage) it’s about the same size but the contrasting forms work well together.
Like all hardy annuals you need to prevent Orlaya setting seed so that it flowers for longer. It’s a cut and come again flower… the more flowers you cut the more the plant produces. What’s not to love about this plant?
When you look really closely at Orlaya you can see that the flower heads are made up of many tiny flowers.
It’s a beautiful plant, especially with a little early morning dew!
If you would like to grow some Orlaya yourself I have some seeds available for you to try.
Just click the image link for more information .
Have a great weekend everyone! 😉
These are beautiful. Welcome to the challenge! Thank you for joining in!
Thanks for having me!
The are gorgeous flowers as are your photos.
Thanks Tina. There are so many lovely flowers aren’t there and I agree with you about Orlaya being gorgeous.
It’s lovely – thanks for the introduction, Gillian!
And thanks for your comment Eliza. 🙂
I love Orlaya too and Ammi, in fact I love most umbellifers with their lacy heads.
They are lovely aren’t they? If I had to choose just one I would struggle!
Beautiful! Such a delicate colour and structure – your images capture it perfectly.
Thanks Kate. White plants can be quite difficult to photograph so I am very happy that I got a few good shots. You have to be up early to catch the dew though!
Lovely photos and words Gillian 🙂
I planted some yesterday….beautiful flowers!
Thanks Karen. They are beautiful aren’t they?
Lovely photos, especially the one showing the dew. I grow it with ammi too. Next year I am going to try one of the purple carrots. Have you tried any?
Thanks very much! I sowed the seeds of Daucus carota in spring this year but no success. Apparently they are supposed to bolt so you get flowers all summer but my batch of seeds didn’t do anything! It is actually a biennial so I’ll have another go this autumn to see if I can produce any plants this time around. I’ve heard mixed reviews about it. Sometimes the pink/purple flowers expected actually turn out to be white.
Timely reading, I have just ordered some Orlaya for the first time.
I hope you love it too!