Plant of the Week: Althaea

The delicately pretty marshmallow, Althaea officinalis, is among the oldest of cottage garden flowers, with pale lilac-pink flowers that seem to dance above the border on their 1m tall stems. It’s perennial, coming back year after year, and a must for wildlife gardens as it’s a British native wildflower, its open, nectar-rich flowers adored by bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects. This versatile beauty is at home in the herb garden, too: its sticky roots have been used for years as a medicine to improve digestion, and you can also boil them up to make marshmallow sweets, perfect for toasting over autumn bonfires!