Verbena bonariensis

Today's the day ………………………. for a little star

I've got lots of this in my garden at the moment - all a legacy of Lockdown, from a packet of seeds that I happened to have.

A tall and slender-stemmed perennial, verbena is very easy to grow and doesn't seem to mind where you put it.  It has fragrant lavender to rose-purple flowers in tight clusters that will last from mid-summer right through to the autumn - and are very attractive to butterflies, bees and other beneficial garden insects.

The name - Verbena - is derived from the latin words meaning ‘sacred bough’, in reference to the leafy twigs of vervaine (Verbena officinalis) which were historically carried by priests, used in wreaths for druidic rituals and for medicine ………………….