Airs & Graces
From dainty alpines and ground-hugging shade-lovers to towering border perennials, thalictrums’ gauzy flowerheads add a see-through effect to borders, making them one of summer’s most alluring plants
WORDS LOUISE CURLEY PHOTOGRAPHS CAROLE DRAKE
Prized for their tall, willowy beauty, thalictrums are the supermodels of the garden border, the airy transparency of their slender stems and frothy flowers creating a see-through veil of delicate height and structure. This is a diverse genus, however, and beyond these statuesque border stalwarts there are diminutive alpines and compact cultivars that are perfect for container growing.
There are more than 120 species of thalictrum, including three that grow wild in Britain: Thalictrum flavum, which grows in stream margins, fens and water meadows; Thalictrum minus, found on limestone soil in parts of Cumbria and the Yorkshire Dales; and Thalictrum alpinum, which grows on Scottish mountainsides.
Commonly known as meadow rue, thalictrums are part of the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. They bear little obvious resemblance to their relatives, but they share the same toxic alkaloid compounds that make them, like other members of the buttercup family, unpalatable to pests such as slugs.
Generally hardy herbaceous perennials, thalictrum vary hugely in height from dainty low-growing alpines no more than 10-15cm tall to towering plants that can reach more than three metres tall over the course of spring and summer. “I have 33 different thalictrums at the nursery, which could be classed as a bit of an addiction,” admits Colin Moat, owner of Pineview Plants in Kent. “They might look delicate but they’re remarkably tough plants – I grow them in pots and even when the rootballs have completely frozen over winter they’ve still survived. They’re just so beautiful even when they’re not in flower thanks to their attractive foliage. They’re also very adaptable, working well in prairie-style planting, woodland edges, a cottage garden or formal border.”
They are mostly clump-forming with soft fern-like foliage that’s typically green or glaucous blue. Some thalictrums emerge above ground particularly early in spring, the foliage providing the perfect foil to tulips, daffodils and early perennials such as pulmonarias. The stems are slender and sometimes flushed purple, which can create a striking effect.
Unusually among flowering plants, thalictrums are both wind and insect-pollinated, and the flowers, which are held in gypsophila-like sprays, don’t have peta
