Love-in-a-mist

Nigella damascena

In other languages: Juffertje-in-het-groen (Nederlands) · Nigelle de Damas (Français)

Love-in-a-mist is an annual from the Mediterranean, from southern Europe to North Africa and western Asia, and a member of the buttercup family. The plant grows 40–50 cm tall and has thread-fine, bright green leaves. Each flower sits in a ruff of fine green bracts, the ‘mist’ that gives it its name. After flowering come inflated, striped seed pods that look very decorative when dried. The best-known variety is ‘Miss Jekyll’, with sky-blue flowers; there are also white, pink and purple mixtures.

Updated on 9 October 2026

Light
Full sun
warm and bright
Moisture
Dry to normal
no wet feet
Legal basis
Sand, loam or clay
any pH
Hardiness
down to -10 °C
protect in harsh winters
Size
0.45 m
tall, 0.25 m wide
Flowering
June–August

Key facts
Height	0.45 m
Native to Belgium	No, planted
Good for bees, butterflies and birds	Yes, for bees
Poisonous to people and pets	Not known to be poisonous
Flowering	June–August

Identify

Love-in-a-mist: how do you recognise it?

Habit: Upright, branching annual, 40–50 cm tall and 20–25 cm wide.
Leaves: Finely divided into thread-like segments, bright green and airy, rather like fennel.
Flowers: Single or semi-double flowers of 3–4 cm, surrounded by a ruff of fine bracts, from June to August.
Colour: Sky blue, dark blue, white, pink and purple.
Fruit: Inflated, balloon-shaped seed pod with ‘horns’, green striped with purple or reddish brown; it contains black seeds.

Flowering: June–August · Sowing: March–May and September

In your garden

Why grow it?

A romantic, airy summer flower for a cottage-style border.
Two seasons of interest: first the flowers, then the balloon-shaped seed pods.
Lovely as a cut flower and, dried, in dried arrangements.
Bees find nectar and pollen in it.
Very easy: sow it once and it often self-seeds from then on.

Love-in-a-mist: where does it grow best?

Full sun for the most flowers and sturdy stems.
Free-draining soil: sand, loam or clay; acid, neutral or chalky.
Dry to normally moist; soil that is too rich gives lots of leaf and floppy stems.
Thin the seedlings to 15–20 cm apart.

Light: Sun
Soil type: Sand, loam or clay
Acidity: Not fussy
Moisture: Dry or normal
Size: 0.45 m tall, 0.25 m wide
Hardiness: Tolerates light frost (to -10 °C)

Goes well with

Cornflower: Even more blue in a sunny summer border.
Field poppy: Red next to blue, for a wild, natural look.
Pot marigold: Orange and yellow as a contrast, in the same sunny spot.
Roses: Love-in-a-mist fills the gaps between roses.

Maintenance

Love-in-a-mist: when and how to plant it?

Sow directly where it is to flower in March–May, or in September for bigger plants that flower earlier: it does not transplant well.
Make the soil fine and weed-free and rake it level.
Sow broadcast or in rows 25 cm apart and cover with a thin layer of soil, as the seed germinates in the dark.
Keep the soil lightly moist until the seedlings come up, after 2–3 weeks.
Thin to 15–20 cm when the seedlings are 5 cm tall.
Sow a new patch every 3–4 weeks for flowers into autumn.

Care

Watering: Only in long dry spells, especially while the plants are still small.
Feeding: Not needed: on poor soil the plants stay sturdier.
Support: Usually not needed; in a windy spot a few twiggy sticks between the plants help.
Deadheading: Cut off spent flowers for longer flowering, or leave them for the decorative seed pods.
Drying the pods: Cut the stems when the pods have coloured and hang them upside down in a dry, airy place.

Tip: Sow in March–May or in September directly where it is to flower, as it transplants badly. Let a few pods ripen: it self-seeds happily and you will have new plants every year.

Love-in-a-mist: when to prune it?

When: No pruning is needed. During flowering you can cut off spent flowers.

How:

Cut off spent flowers if you want a longer flowering season.
Always leave a few if you want it to self-seed or want pods for drying.
Pull up spent, dried-out plants, roots and all, once they have shed their seed.

Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Seed: In March–May or September, sown directly where it is to flower. Collect your own seed from dry pods in August; colours do not always come true.
Self-seeding: Let a few pods burst open in summer: seedlings appear in autumn and spring, to thin out or leave.

Love-in-a-mist: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −10 °C: protect in harsh winters.

An annual that dies after summer; clear away spent plants.
Seedlings sown in September overwinter as small rosettes and tolerate frost to about −10 °C.
In harder frost or very wet cold, lay a sheet of fleece over the seedlings.
No bulbs or plants to bring indoors: the seed provides the next generation.

Diseases and pests

Slugs: Eat young seedlings. Check in the evening and pick them off, or sow a little more thickly.
Powdery mildew: White powder on leaves and stems in late summer, especially in dry weather. Pull up older plants; young sowings suffer less.
Short flowering: Each sowing flowers for about 6–8 weeks. Sow again every 3–4 weeks for flowers into autumn.
Too many seedlings: It self-seeds freely. Hoe off surplus seedlings or cut the pods in time.

Through the year

March: Sow where it is to flower.
April: Sow. Thin seedlings to 15–20 cm.
May: Last spring sowing. Thin out.
June: Flowering starts. Pick for the vase.
July: Full flower. Deadhead, or leave flowers for the seed pods.
August: Harvest and dry the seed pods. Save seed.
September: Sow where it is to flower for early flowers next year. Clear spent plants.
November: Protect autumn seedlings in hard frost.

Use

Good for wildlife

Bees: Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

You and this species

Did you know?

The black spice called ‘nigella’ or ‘black cumin’ comes from a related species, Nigella sativa, not from love-in-a-mist.
The variety ‘Miss Jekyll’ is named after Gertrude Jekyll, the famous British garden designer.
Love-in-a-mist belongs to the buttercup family, like the buttercup itself, the columbine and the clematis.

Garden plants · All species