There is a piece of Kazakhstan that is seared into my memory. In 2014, I turned a corner there to a bit of the world that is perfectly gardened. We were looking for old stands of protected wild apples and as the hills became mountains, the landscape turned into a giant perennial border. Fat peonies with seed heads splitting forth, wild roses, echinops bobbing, foxtail lilies waving tall seedheads and a sea of thalictrum running from the sun into the shade of the forest. After a long hot summer the smell of fermenting apples gave everything a nostalgic air. Oh, to see this in full flower.
I’d sort of forgotten about thalictrum, or meadow rue, as they are commonly known, until that moment. Thalictrum are lovely: tall or short but always decidedly airy. They produce a fine spray of tiny flowers that often resemble pompoms, because the petals are either absent or fall off leaving a numerous showy stamens. Despite being commonly called a rue, thalictrum are in the buttercup family and so are pretty much bombproof when it comes to pests; slugs don’t touch them, making them useful in this year of the slug apocalypse. And they are good in shade. There are tall ones for the back of a border and much smaller ones for pockets of shade under trees and bushes. They are a useful, easy-going bunch.
Thalictrum fall broadly into two categories: those that flower now, and those that flower later on in summer. If grown happily, thalictrum will keep their flowers for about a month and have lovely sprays of seedhead afterwards. They do best in rich, slightly acidic soils. Mulch well with compost – and to keep powdery mildews at bay, make sure they don’t dry out or sit in areas with poor air circulation.
French meadow rue (Thalictrum aquilegifolium) flowers in May and June and grows to 1m tall. T. aquilegifolium ‘Album’ is a refined pale form that almost glows in shady corners, ‘Thundercloud’ has deep purple flowers, and ‘Black Stockings’ is purple with dark purple stems. All these look good underplanted with spotted cranesbill (Geranium maculatum). If they look messy later in the season, they can be shorn back for a new flush of leaves. Water them well after the cut. They are widely available from independent nurseries.
Not so readily available is Thalictrum tuberosum, an alpine variety growing to 40cm that can take sun as well as shade, making them good for spots that spend the morning basking and the afternoon in shade. It’s frothy, white and delightful. Buy it from Bluebell Cottage Gardens. For pots, try Kyushu meadow rue (T. kiusianum), a slow-growing dwarf species with fine, almost fern-like foliage and purple-pink flowers from June to August. It grows to 30cm tall and is happiest in partial shade.
• Alys Fowler and gardening editor Jane Perrone talk about houseplants at Grow London from 2-3pm on 24 June.
