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| Alchemilla mollis, Lady's Mantle in early July. (The blue flowers are from an adjacent bush-type clematis. Lady's Mantle does have flowers with a long bloom season, but its flowers are the tiny yellow specks that you can see in the middle and upper sections of this photo. |
Alchemilla mollis, Lady's Mantle
Pros:
1. Beautiful and unusual foliage
2. The plant's unique ability to catch and collect raindrops and dew. The water caught on the plant's leaves was once thought to possess magical properties.
3. Wind tolerant
4. Hardy to zone 4 and may be semi-evergreen in zone 6/7
5. According to some sources, young leaves may be edible raw; root may be edible cooked. Have not tried this so I cannot provide any first-hand opinion on this.
6. Supposedly attracts various flies as pollinators, but I don't think I've seen any around the plant yet...
Cons:
1. Not native to the U.S. (from Southern Europe)
2. Does not cover much ground on its own. The plant only gets about 2-feet wide. But supposedly it self sows vigorously and all the baby plants act as a groundcover. Hopefully those babies don't grow out of control...
Conclusion:
So far, I'm really fond of this plant. I'm kind of hoping it will invade a little (but not too much).
