Wallflowers, as their name has come to suggest, are often overlooked. These sweet little blooms are favourites of municipal spring bedding schemes.
However, their versatility makes them an asset to any garden – and they’re coming into flower around now.
They come in a shimmering rainbow of colours, from bright yellow through to orange, pink, maroon and violet.
Usually short-lived perennials (though often grown as biennials) most of the wallflowers we grow are variants of Erysimum cheiri, which is native to Greece.
They’re brassica – making them vulnerable to clubroot. One of the most popular in recent years has been E. ‘Bowles’s Mauve’, which grows to 75cm with grey-green leaves and rich mauve flowers.
For something more traditional, E. ‘Sunset’ is an award-winning series of cultivars in a range of colours from primrose to purple, growing to around 50cm.
E. ‘Fire King’ is a flame-red variety which makes a dazzling container display with plum-coloured tulips. E. ‘Vulcan’ is an old-fashioned cultivar with crimson flowers.
Alpine wallflowers, such as E. ‘Golden Jubilee’, will brighten up a rockery in spring, particularly if paired with aubrieta or campanula.
Bright blossoms: Fragrant wallflowers are an asset to any garden
Another diminutive kind is the fairy wallflower, E. helveticum, which grows to around 15 to 20cm with warm yellow flowers and happily self-seeds into cracks in sunny pathways.
Seeds can be sown under cover now, or outdoors in May, and will germinate at 15C to 18C. When autumn arrives, plant out wherever you want them.
You can also buy them ready-grown and put them in the ground now. They are fully hardy and will flower from March to midsummer.
Wallflowers make great companions for tulips, as they come out around the same time.
They are equally happy in the ground or in containers, so long as the soil is moist but well-draining. Make sure to deadhead regularly to keep them flowering
