Honesty

Honesty | Lunaria annua. This is great example of a wildflower that has been welcomed by gardeners into their gardens. Although an annual the sweet scented purple flowers that are similar to that of a wallflower, turn into the most special seed heads that are sought after by florist over the Christmas period. A lovely clump forming plant that will reach heights of 90cm.  Loved by bees and butterflies and also by munching caterpillars so can be used as a sacrificial plant.  Use the flowers raw in salads, they have a cabbage like flavour, but not too manty otherwise you won't get the seed heads later in the year. Medicinally a fatty acid obtained from the seeds has been used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.