backyardgardener.com
19.01.2024
Growing Guide for Galega – Perennial Plant
From the Greek gala, milk, ago, to lead; the plant was used as fodder for cattle and goats and was thought to stimulate the flow of milk (Leguminosae). Goat’s rue. A small genus of hardy herbaceous plants with pinnate leaves, useful for the border. The only species likely to be found in cultivation is G. officinalis, 3-5 feet tall with spikes of bluish sweet-pea‑shaped flowers in summer and autumn. It is variable in flower colour and has several varieties, including alba, white flowers, and hartlandii with larger flowers of a better lilac than the type. Cultivars include ‘Duchess of Bedford’, mauve and white; ‘Her Majesty’, clear lilac; `Lady Wilson’, blue and white flushed with pink.