Lady’s Mantle: A Serendipity Gardens Favorite

Serendipity Gardens  » Flora, Fun, Gardening »  Lady’s Mantle: A Serendipity Gardens Favorite
0 Comments

When I first planted Serendipity Gardens, I had never heard of Lady’s Mantle (alchemilla mollis). Now, though, it’s hard to imagine not having these lovely plants.

Five Reasons I Love Lady’s Mantle

Lady's mantle in spring

Pleated fans of Lady’s Mantle plants are always a joy to see in the spring.

1. It has the cutest baby leaves ever — elegant little fans with pleats and a scalloped edge. In early spring,  Lady’s Mantle pokes up through the leaf litter, and is a sure sign that warmer days are on their way. For me, it is one of the first plants I go looking for in the spring, and I am always glad to see it.

2. It looks fabulous when in bloom, especially when the frothy chartreuse blossoms the plants produce are paired with a blue-blooming neighbor. Pure serendipity is the only way I can describe learning about this beautiful combination. My first plantings of Lady’s Mantle just happened to be in front of a group of dark blue Salvia, and the combination of the two was breathtaking for a novice gardener. Oddly enough, we moved those plants and lost that combination. I have not yet replaced it, but always want to.

ladymantle2-2

Soft, silvery leaves hold drops of water after a rain.

3. It has rounded leaves that hold water in silver drops, from both early morning dew and rain. According to Wikipedia, the reason that water “beads and sparkles on the leaves” is because of “the remarkable dewetting properties of the leaves, whereby the contact force between the water and the leaf is so disfavoured that a thin layer of air penetrates the solid-liquid interface.” Alchemists considered these beads of water to be the purest form of water. They used it in their quest to turn base metal into gold. Hence the name Alchemilla.

4. Lady’s Mantle is very easy to propagate. It divides easily. From my original two plants, I probably now have 15 or so. It also self-seeds with enthusiasm — some would say too much enthusiasm! I probably have a few that came about that way as well.

5. It adds a soft, mounded presence to the garden, which makes it a good ground cover. For me, it has always looked best in a lightly shaded area. I do have some in full sun conditions, but they tend to have parched looking leaves later in the summer and require a bit more care. You can easily remove the brown-tinged leaves by just pulling them out. If the plant   looks droopy in July or August,  you can cut it back and get those sweet little fans all over again.

A Plant Philosophy

Lady’s Mantle, I am sorry to say, is not native to North America. It originated in Europe. When I first began planting it, I neither thought about plant origins nor understood the importance of planting natives. I have no plans to remove it from my garden, but I probably will not purchase any more.

My philosophy about native plants is described perfectly in an old song my mother taught me. The song goes like this: “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other gold.”

Serendipity Gardens will always be a mixture of the old and the new, the silver and the gold. Each plant has something to offer, and beauty for its own sake is no small gift.

Like this post? Sign up to receive an email each time a new post is available. We will never loan, sell or rent your email address — that’s a promise! Please use the buttons below to share with others.

Please leave a comment!