Love for independent local florists: Astrantia meets alstroemeria

Astrantia is a darling of English cottage gardens.

I fell in love with the plants from afar when I saw a photo of the flowers used as a companion plant for roses by English rosarian and  landscape designer Michael Marriott. 

At the time, I could not find one website outside the UK or Holland that had the plants for sale.

So I was delighted earlier this month to see them as cut flowers at a friend's flower shop. Lisa Mohn of Apple Blossom Flower Shop in Scotch Plains wrapped up a generous bunch of the flowers, and I paired the maroon astrantia with pink alstroemeria for this naturalistic arrangement. I happened to have ribbon in the same color as the delicate blossoms, some hanging in lovely clusters on curved limbs.

I have been enjoying these flowers for more than a week, changing the water every few days. They still look fantastic and new buds are opening to show off their gorgeous, swirling centers that also have numerous tiny stamens that look like pins in a cushion. Finding flowers I don't see in every supermarket bucket keeps me going back to neighborhood flower shops, which have managed to stock exciting floral options despite the pandemic. Thank you, Lisa!

If I'm ever able to find astrantia to plant (White Flower Farms sold out of a white variety offered online this year), there appear to be a variety of choices in both color and flower shape. The unusual, long-blooming perennial is said to attract beneficial insects to its blossoms in silver, white, maroon, rose or rosy-red. It grows up to 3 feet tall and blooms outdoors from May through July in full sun to partial shade.

They are also known as masterwort, and according to the University of Wisconsin, they are related to carrots! They're native to mountain meadows, grasslands or woodland clearings, and found along streams in Europe and western Asia.