Didiscus Blue Lace

Flat lacy umbels in soft powder-blue on slender stems at 45 to 60cm. It has the same architecture as ammi or wild carrot and almost none of the same colour. A genuinely blue umbel is a rare thing, and florists want more of it than anyone grows.

There is a faint sweet scent, most noticeable in still evening air, which is a quiet bonus rather than a reason to buy.

The catch is that it comes from Western Australia and it wants conditions to match. It needs warmth, full sun and shelter, and in a cold wet summer or an exposed site it will do very little. A sheltered south-facing bed, or the edge of a polytunnel, is where it performs. It is half-hardy, flowering July to September, and it dislikes root disturbance, so raise it in deep modules or sow where it is to grow rather than pricking it out. Given what it wants, it is one of the most elegant things you can put in a bouquet. Given a cold exposed corner it is a disappointment, and it is worth being straight about that.