Agrostemma githago Ocean Pearl - Corn cockle

Corn cockle 'Ocean Pearl' is a superb annual that bears beautiful pure white flowers in summer atop tall, greyish stems. Like its wild ancestor, it has an effortless charm that looks perfect in informal, cottage gardens or ceremonial bouquets. Easy to grow, suitable for growing at the back of flower beds or in pots with fertile, free-draining soil and plenty of sun.

Corn cockle (Agrostemma githago) is a rare, very beautiful wildflower belonging to the Caryophyllaceae family. It is an annual herbaceous plant native to Europe, temperate Asia and North Africa, that can now be found all over the world. Long considered an invasive and even toxic agricultural weed, it is now scarce in the wild due to improved seed cleaning techniques. 'Ocean Pearl' rapidly forms a narrow clump of upright, sparsely branched stems with a narrow, sinuous habit and a height of 50 cm to 1 m in full bloom. Most of the plant is covered with silky grey hairs, which are particularly dense on the leaves and even more so nearing the flower. The leaves are linear or narrowly lanceolate with a clearly marked midrib. The flowering period is from June and August, followed by a fruiting period from July to September depending on the weather conditions. The 3-5 cm pedunculate flowers emerge from a swollen-based, pubescent calyx. They are pure white with intricate golden-brown flecks and are popular amongst pollinating insects. The fruit is a large, swollen, tough, ovoid capsule containing 30 to 40 black, dented seeds about the size of a grain of wheat. They are very poisonous. They germinate very easily in light soil.

'Ocean Pearl' corncockle has an effortless beauty and grace as it sways in the breeze, bringing a wonderful bucolic charm to the garden. It looks perfect at the back of informal flower beds alongside ornamental grasses such as Stipa tenuifolia or Mulhenbergia capillaris, catmint, pink Love-in-a-mist, California poppies or purple knapweed. Excellent also in rock gardens for beautiful summer displays. The cut flowers make very attractive ceremonial bouquets with white lilies or Calla lilies.