Rose campion

The mullein is a good idea, But carry it further into the species, Verbascum. There are many varieties, most are biennial. Named varieties may not come true.

well... I think it stinks! Maybe other people like the smell. My memory of it was kind like sage brush, not sweet or nice. but, hey, maybe that is just me!! check it out at a nursery and decide for yourself. I would not want you to deprive yourself of something you would like on my account!

Sometimes you can't have everything! The sensory experience might be enjoyable for the girls in a different way. :D

This is about the same as the 1st view of May 27. As the flowers mature they change color.
BTW. When I was a teen, I helped an elderly neighbor who told me that in olden days women would use dried mullein leaves to bring a blush to their cheeks before rouge was invented.
Herman

I think it is so funny that it reseeds for all of you year after year. I can grow them from seed but they never reseed for me .... and I mean NEVER. and I am talking at home and at our cottage. Sigh. I love them with gray leafed plants .... dusty miller.

Ya, ain't fair, huh? LOL

Are we still talking about rose campion, or verbascum?

I thought I'd put my 2 cents in. I had rose campion in my flower garden and it tried to take over. I then moved it to the shade of an oak tree and it has been there ever since. It doesn't germinate well in the shade, but it still blooms! I collect seed to germinate in the sun, but I usually get a couple of seedlings even in full shade, just not thousands.
I grew like 50 white ones in gallon pots this year and not a one bloomed, it's good for me that the plants last a few years in zone 8b, I put them in the ground with hopes for blooms next year.
I also tried silene chalcedonica, a relative of rose campion. Common name: maltese cross. It has a smaller basal clump, green leaves, and red flowers. It's worth trying too, I think it will behave very much like rose campion even though it looks quite different.