Godetia amoena

The Godetia or Azalea-flowered Clarkia used to be found in every flower garden. A little forgotten nowadays, this easy-to-grow annual plant with abundant flowering in summer is making a comeback in our flower beds. This mix of Godetia produces silky funnel-shaped flowers, displaying soft solid or variegated shades ranging from pink to salmon and white, as well as purple, depending on the plants. It is a charming plant, both in the garden and in a vase. Sow it in well-drained, fertile, moist to dry soil that has been well worked.

Today, Godetia amoena is called Clarkia amoena or Clarkia grandiflora. It is an annual plant from the evening primrose family, native to California, which has given rise to many cultivars. A simple sowing will produce vigorous, bushy plants with numerous very thin branches, reaching 55 cm (21.7 in) in height in one season. Each plant develops into a small pyramid, topped in summer by as many spikes of silky flowers with large corollas, displaying somewhat soft and varied colors, sometimes solid, sometimes variegated or adorned with dark spots at the base of the petals. With a flared shape, they are either single or occasionally double, and are grouped in terminal inflorescences. Flowering occurs from June to September, depending on the sowing date, which should be staggered to enjoy a long flowering period. The fruit of this plant is a capsule that splits open at maturity to release numerous seeds.

Clarkias enchant flower beds and borders, where they create remarkable spots of color. This mixed variety brings to our gardens the cheerful charm of cottage gardens. Sow them in slightly wild flower beds, they will look stunning alongside ornamental grasses like Stipa tenuifolia or Mulhenbergia capillaris, with catmints, pink, blue or white Love-in-a-Mist, California poppies, and annual cornflowers. By combining clarkias with Oriental poppies and asters, you can create ever-changing flower beds that bloom throughout the summer. Godetias make excellent cut flowers, widely used in floristry. In this respect, they can be sown in the vegetable garden, along with gladioli, to provide a supply of flowers for bouquets.