Botanical name: Verbena officinalis
Folk names: Wizard’s herb, simpler’s joy

Type: Perennial

Wildlife: Solitary bees like leafcutter bees and hoverflies feed from its nectar.

Flowers: Late June to July

Decorative merit: Tiny pale mauve flowers on delicate, upright, branching stems up to 1m high, that don’t cast shade on other plants. Basal leaves. This plant will pop up in nearby nooks and crannies if happy!

Where: Sunny herb patches with free-draining soil, wild patches and borders where its airy stems can complement lower-growing plants.

Folklore: Revered and used in spiritual, ceremonial and medicinal ways by ancient cultures. Believed to be a good omen and associated with love and used in love charms up until medieval times.

Donate seeds to Exeter Seed Bank