Linum grandiflorum “Bright Eyes”
“Bright Eyes” flax with large flowers: this selection plays on a striking contrast, with very pale pinkish-white petals centered by a dark red, almost black eye—hence its English name, “Bright Eyes.” Like all ornamental flax, each flower lasts only one morning, but flowering renews continuously throughout the summer.
Characteristics:
-
Two-tone flowers: pinkish-white with a dark red center, creating a very clean graphic effect.
-
Airy habit: slender stems and narrow foliage give borders a light, gently moving texture.
-
Easy and undemanding: a hardy annual that needs very little.
Precautions:
- This species is strictly ornamental: unlike cultivated flax (Linum usitatissimum), its seeds are not intended for food consumption.
Sowing advice:
-
Exposure: full sun is essential—its flowers remain closed in cloudy weather.
-
Soil: light, sandy, poor, and well drained. It dislikes heavy soils and stagnant moisture. Do not fertilize: in rich soil, the stems become elongated and flop.
-
Method: sow directly in place in spring, barely covering the seeds. Its fragile root does not tolerate transplanting well: avoid sowing in pots. Stagger sowings every three weeks to extend flowering. See how to sow your seeds.
Care advice:
- Almost none. Thin to 20 cm apart and water only during periods of severe drought.
Beneficial combinations:
Benefits for biodiversity:
- Its flowers, which open each morning, provide nectar and pollen for bees and hoverflies throughout the warm season.
- Its seeds, left standing in autumn, feed small seed-eating birds.
Uses:
- Borders, rock gardens, edging, and flower meadows. Its stems are also suitable for country-style bouquets when picked in bud.
Harvesting your own seeds:
Allow the small round capsules to turn brown and dry completely on the plant, then gently crush them between your fingers over a container. Ornamental flax also readily self-seeds from one season to the next. See storing your seeds.
Our Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Auvergne Volcanoes, we choose open-pollinated, non-hybrid varieties, test them for germination rates, and carefully sort and package them without any chemical treatment. Our belief: to give gardeners back the ability to sow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.
Sales reserved for home gardeners seeking quality and authenticity.
