Nigella Persian Jewels Mixed (love-in-a-mist)

The saturated mix, for anyone who has grown pale Miss Jekyll for years and quietly wanted more from it. Deep rose-pink, intense violet-blue, rich mauve and pure white, all floating in the same thread-fine green mist. It holds an RHS Award of Garden Merit.

The useful thing about it is uniformity. Despite the colour range the plants all reach the same 50 to 60cm and flower at the same time, so a row comes good together rather than in dribs and drabs. For cutting that matters more than it sounds.

The pods follow the flowers and are as good as any nigella's, striped and balloon-shaped and excellent dried. Deadhead for flowers or leave them for pods; you pick one.

Direct sow only, since the taproot resents transplanting, and September sowing gives the best plants. Keep it lean. The seeds inside the dried pods are a smaller relative of kalonji and can be used sparingly on bread, though this is not the true black cumin. Goldfinches will take the seed if you leave the pods standing.