I’ve tried over and over again, but it’s just about impossible to get a decent photograph of my ‘Lavender Mist’ Meadow Rue plants (thalictrum rochebrunianum). I’ve tried all different angles, light conditions and times of day, but they’re having none of it.
I love these plants because they thrive in partial shade of which I have plenty. They grow very tall with thin stalks and columbine-looking foliage.
At the top of the stalks sprout sprays of pretty little lavender to pink flowers. Because the plants are so thin but tall, the flowers appear to float above the garden. You can even use them to add depth to the middle or front of a border. They are so thin and wispy, they won’t block other plants.
I have about a dozen of them in my yard. They grow to about 5 or 6 feet tall each summer. A few of my plants are easily over 10 feet tall. I always “hear” them blooming before I see them because the bumblebees go crazy for the flowers. They make a different buzzing noise when they are feeding from the meadow rue flowers compared to other plants. It could be because the flowers are so dainty that they have to hover under them in order to collect the pollen.
My plants have never shown any signs of disease. Because they are woodland plants, however, they prefer moist soil. I just make sure I water them during dry conditions. I stake the tallest plants, but other than that they don’t require any special care.
