This is about a group of plants, very easy to grow, self-sowing and adding some light to darker woody areas of the garden: The "Night Viols" and "Moon Viols" as they are called in Germany, or Hesperis matronalis and Lunaria rediviva. Their English names are a bit odd and hard to remember: Dame's rocket and Honesty.
We grow them in front of rhododendron. I have both species and unfortunately I have grown them in the same corner of the garden very close together, because I mistook them for the same species a long time ago. They are obviously closely related, both belonging to Brassicaceae. Lunaria has heart-shaped leaves, Hesperis long slender ones. They start as low plants but can become quite tall and lanky. In my garden they come together in a happy mix, building a big waving bunch of white and sometimes violet flowers for most of the month of May and often later again. Both species seed freely and new plants appear wherever they find a spot that they like.
When I take a tour through the dark garden on a warm evening like these days, the white blossoms greet me between dark bushes. The sweetest scent wafts through the air and covers the whole area telling me "We are here - enjoying the evening like you!".
seeds
Hesperis matronalis "alba"
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