Scabiosa atropurpurea Marshmallow Scoop

Scabiosa Marshmallow Scoop is part of a new series of scabious with spectacular fruity colours, initially developed for cut flowers. This variety bears beautiful double, globular and fringed inflorescences, in a range of candy pink shades around a dome-shaped centre of almost red old rose. With its texture and extraordinary colour, this flower works wonders in bouquets. It is also remarkable in pots and among other flowers in sunny flower beds. The Scoop series scabious are quite short-lived, but bloom abundantly all summer if care is taken to remove faded flowers. They are easy to grow in the sun and in well-drained soil. They easily self-seed in the garden, but not always true to type.

The Scoop scabious were selected by Danziger, in Kenya. Their genealogy is kept secret, as is often the case with new horticultural varieties, especially in the cut flower industry. It can be assumed, however, that they carry the genes of Scabiosa atropurpurea, native to southern Europe. All these plants belong to the Caprifoliaceae family.

Marshmallow Scoop develops from a deep and extensive root system. This plant is often grown as an annual, although it is actually a short-lived perennial. It quickly forms a robust, upright clump, 50 to 60cm (20 to 24in) tall when flowering, and 20 to 30cm (8 to 12in) wide. The foliage is composed of finely cut and roughly dentate, lanceolate leaves, with a light greenish-grey hue. It emerges at the neck of the plant, forming a more or less flat rosette close to the ground. It disappears in winter.

Flowering occurs from July to October. Each plant produces an abundance of thin but sturdy stems, each carrying a single dome-shaped flower head, 5 to 7cm (2 to 3in) in diameter. Each one is composed of a multitude of tiny fringed flowers surrounding a rounded centre paved with darker flower buds, which open later. On the periphery, the flowers display a pretty range of pink shades, from candy pink to white-pink. The stamens resemble miniature white pinheads. The slightly scented flowering is both nectar-rich and honey-bearing.

This queen of traditional gardens has been slightly neglected in recent years, but is making a strong comeback, with extraordinary colours like the Marshmallow Scoop variety. It is sublime in bouquets with red, purple, pink or white flowers. They are graceful and elegant, and far from austere as their common name "Mourning Widow" suggests. This plant is an excellent choice for both flower beds and containers. Combine scabious with sweet Williams, damask nigellas, cosmos, cornflowers, asters, grasses or rudbeckias to create an interesting contrast. Scabious flowers are ideal for rustic-style bouquets, lasting 10 days in a vase. Roses, delphiniums, ageratum, phlox, and dahlias will make beautiful companions in a floral display.