Honesty

Description

This plant is easy to grow from seed and tends to naturalise. An annual or biennial it’s mostly grown as a biennial, being sown or non-flowering one year to flower the next. It is suitable for cultivation in a partial shade or dappled area, or in a wildflower garden, and the flowers and dried seedpods are often seen in flower arrangements. The plant has historically been said to represent honesty, money, and sincerity, hence the name. And in old witchcraft folklore, the honesty plant was thought to be protective. Honesty plants represents prosperity as the flat pods (when ripe and silvery) resemble silvery coins and therefore are seen as symbolising promises of wealth. Producing pink flowers, sometimes lilac flowers, these native wildflowers are a great addition to any spring time wildflower garden

Common names also include moonwort, money plant, and Lunaria Annua – The lunar or moon-like seed pods give it this name. Honesty seeds should be sown early summer to bloom the following spring around April all the way to July.

These attractive plants and fragrant flowers are great ornamental plants in a flower garden display, or are commonly used at the edge of paths and footways to add more interest.