Alchemilla mollis
Lady's Mantle

There are probably several Silver Linings to the incessant clouds and rain we've been experiencing these past few weeks. One that we witness every day at the Farm is the beauty of the moisture droplets, gathered like glistening jewels, on the leaves of our Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla mollis). The palm shaped leaves are pubescent and are soft as velvet to the touch. This pubescence captures moisture, whether from rain, morning dew or overhead sprinkling, and holds it in beautiful reflective droplets. Alchemilla is a vigorous plant that thrives in partial shade and prefers growing in moisture retentive soil. Given those conditions it will exhibit great vigor and makes an excellent taller groundcover, reaching a mature height of 18"-24" in full flower. It is valuable as a textural contrast plant when combined with other shade foliage plants such as Japanese Painted Fern or Carex. Although Lady's mantle has long been valued by gardeners for its foliage it is only recently that American gardeners have come to appreciate the clusters of chartreuse flowers , borne in early summer. Many American gardeners used to shear the flowers off this plant but in recent years Alchemilla flowers have become very popular in the European - and now American - cut flower trade, used as a filler flower for floral arrangements.