Queen Anne's Lace (left) is a great bouquet filler, but Orlaya (right) is even better. The blooms are similar, however orlaya's seed heads are more attractive and not so bulky; orlaya plants have a longer growth span; the stems have more harvestable flowers, and reseeding is pretty much guaranteed. Oh, and the flowers don't have that strong carroty smell.
Yes, I'm in love with Orlaya! Look how pretty it goes with roses.
Some of you might not want to give free reign
to this invasive field flower, but of all the reseeders in my garden,
this is the most benign. When the plants are finally done flowering,
they aren't as unsightly as Queen Anne's Lace, and they're easy to pull
out of the ground. I grab a big bundle of the dried plants and shake
the seeds all about a large area of my garden that has a free-form look.
Last summer I saved seeds, and today I gathered them into little bags for you. Just email me your address if you'd like one. (For my email, click on about at top left.)
Orlaya to go.
The orlaya shop is closed now, and the seeds will be in the mail soon. There's always next year. Thanks!
