Strawflower Silvery Rose

Strawflowers are the odd ones in a border. The petals are already dry to the touch on a growing plant, stiff and papery like the skin of an onion, and that is exactly why they last. 'Silvery Rose' flowers in a muted, dusty pink with a silvered sheen, softer than the usual strawflower brights.

For drying, cut when the outer petals have opened but the centre is still tightly closed. Left any longer on the plant and the middle goes fluffy and grey once dried. Hang small bunches upside down somewhere dark and airy, and they will hold their colour for a year or more.

It wants full sun and light, sharp soil. Heavy wet ground in a Norfolk winter is the one thing it will not forgive, though as a half-hardy annual it will be over before that matters.