Lavatera Mallow 'Barnsley Baby'

‘Barnsley Baby’ is a fabulous lavatera and a dwarf variety of a classic cottage garden favourite, bred to be considerably smaller than its full-sized relatives. It has a naturally compact form, but its flowers are just as large and, incredibly, are even more abundant than any other variety. The candyfloss pink strings of flowers open in succession from the bottom to the top of the stems between July and October, so this beautiful shrub is constantly covered in buds and freshly opened flowers, giving the look of an extravagant flower arrangement.

Lavateras, also known as Mallows, are traditionally large, vigorous plants that produce long stems covered in lovely, large open flowers in white or shades of pink. They are incredibly attractive to bees and a host of other pollinating insects, so if you want to do your bit to save our wildlife, planting any variety of Lavatera in your garden will certainly help.

‘Barnsley Baby’ only reaches a third of the size of most other varieties, making it perfect for growing in pots. It’ll be completely happy in a 30 cm (1 ft) diameter planter in a sunny location where it will flower its little heart out in late summer, just as many other flowering plants are beginning to slow down.

Incredibly easy to grow and look after, all that’s required is plenty of water and a monthly feed, followed by cutting back hard each spring to encourage lush, bushy new growth which will look gorgeous even before the show stopping flower stems begin to appear, teasing you as the buds swell and being to burst open.

Supplied as an established shrub in a 17cm pot, ready to plant out.