Echinacea Bravado

Big rosy-purple daisies, ten to twelve centimetres across, with the petals held flat and outward rather than sweeping down. Each one is centred on a large coppery-orange cone that catches evening light and does half the work of the flower.

The flat petals are the point of the selection. The wild coneflower lets its petals droop, which looks graceful up close and reads as untidy across a garden. 'Bravado' holds them out, so the flowers carry from the far end of a border. The stems are strong enough to stand without staking and a cut stem holds ten to fourteen days.

Two things about growing it from seed. Year one is establishment and the flowering is thin; the plant comes into its own from year two and improves after that. And echinacea breaks dormancy very late, often not showing until well into May, by which time a good many people have decided it died over winter and dug it out or planted over it. Mark the spot. Leave the cones standing through winter for the structure and for the goldfinches.