{"product_id":"bishy-barnabees-cottage-garden-malva-mystic-merlin","title":"Malva Mystic Merlin","description":"\u003cp\u003eTall sturdy spikes at 1.2 to 1.5m, loaded with silky saucers in deep violet-purple veined with darker maroon. The colour shifts about depending on temperature and soil, running between indigo-purple and richer magenta, so the plant looks slightly different from week to week.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is the sensible alternative to a hollyhock. You get the same height, the same architectural spike against a wall, and none of the rust that makes hollyhocks a two-year battle. It is a short-lived perennial, three or four years, gaining size each season.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe dark colour needs company. On its own at the back of a border it reads as a shadow; put it against gold or orange, rudbeckia or a warm calendula, and the complementary contrast is about as strong as cottage planting gets. Flowers and young leaves are edible. The midsummer chop applies here too: cut it back by half when the first flush tires, or the plant goes woody and unproductive for the rest of the season. It self-seeds prolifically, and the seedlings will not all come back this dark.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53195297718605,"sku":"MAL-MST","price":3.2,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0828\/6961\/6973\/files\/FullSizeRender_0d47066e-7c21-4c5b-9ed3-caa8dbc5fdd0.jpg?v=1768592235","url":"https:\/\/thefoalyard.co.uk\/products\/bishy-barnabees-cottage-garden-malva-mystic-merlin","provider":"The Foalyard","version":"1.0","type":"link"}