This perennial dies back to below ground level each year in autumn, then fresh new growth appears again in spring.

• Position: full sun or partial shade
• Soil: any but the poorest soil
• Rate of growth: average
• Flowering period: June to September
• Hardiness: fully hardy
  
  Producing honey-scented, golden-yellow flowers, and whorls of slender, dark green leaves, which have a pleasant smell when cut and dried, lady’s bedstraw is ideal for a sunny wildflower or perennial border. It's also an important food source for caterpillars of the broad-bordered bee hawk moth. As the name suggests, it was used in Victorian times as a mattress-filler. Not only did it have a pleasant smell, but it also helped repel fleas.
  
  
• Garden care: Sow in seed trays, or directly into a sunny, well prepared bed in spring or from late summer to early autumn. When sown in seed trays, just cover the seed and keep well watered but not wet. Pot on when large enough to handle and harden off before planting at 30cm intervals outside in late spring or early summer. Wildflowers prefer poorer soils, so avoid the use of fertilisers. In autumn after flowering cut the faded flower-heads down to the ground and compost the dead stems.
  
  
• Sow: April - May or August - October
  
  
• Flowering: June - September
  
  
• Approximate quantity: 250 seeds