Musk Mallow - a wild flower for the garden




Musk mallow (Malva moschata) has lovely finely divided leaves growing in an expanding dome in spring.  The pink flowers open in early summer and this year have put on a great show.  Flowers and foliage have a faint musky smell.  It is a short-lived perennial but it self seeds freely. I've just cut off the seed heads to limit the number of plants appearing next year! In the wild it grows on verges and in grassland - something for a wildflower meadow?  Bees like it!

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