Cleome / Spider Flowers

Adding a delicate airiness to borders, Cleome Hassleriana (Spider Flower) is a fast-growing annual plant with dramatic large, loose balls of sweetly fragrant flowers with fascinating long stamens that protrude out, giving them a spider-like look. They rise above a handsome foliage of aromatic, palmate green leaves with a spine at the base of each leaf. The attractive blooms, in shades of pink, purple or white, are followed by thin seed pods that will split open before dispersing the seed within. Blooming over a reasonably long period, from early summer until frost, Spider Flower remains attractive in the cold season thanks to its dried flower heads, which will be visited in fall by birds that feed on the seeds.