Calendula Sunset Tones

Why I grow it
Calendula is one of those plants I tuck almost everywhere, but ‘Sunset Tones’ is particularly beautiful. The flowers come in warm shades of apricot, peach, orange and deeper sunset colours, and the petals have an almost silky quality that seems to shimmer when the light catches them.

It's beautiful, useful, loved by pollinators and quite happy growing amongst the vegetables — basically ticking most of my boxes.

At a glance
Type: Flowering annual
Variety: Sunset Tones
Growth: Bushy and branching
Flowers: Mixed warm sunset shades
Good for: Potager planting, pollinators, cutting and edible petals
Inventory: 3 pots — approximately 3 plants per pot

In the kitchen
Calendula petals are edible, and this is one of my favourite flowers for scattering over food. Pull the petals from the flower head and drift them over salads for little flashes of colour.

They can also be scattered over soups, vegetables and other dishes — but frankly, a bowl of green leaves with those silky sunset-coloured petals across the top is reason enough to grow them.

In the garden
Tuck calendula through vegetable beds, herb gardens and potagers rather than relegating it to a separate flower garden. It brings colour into productive planting and gives visiting insects another source of flowers amongst the food crops.

Regular picking and deadheading keeps the plants producing for longer.

Care
Sun to part shade and reasonably well-drained soil. Water while establishing and during dry periods. Pick flowers regularly or remove spent blooms to encourage continued flowering.

What you’ll receive
One pot containing approximately three established Calendula ‘Sunset Tones’ plants. They can be planted together for a small drift or gently separated and spread through the garden.

Plants naturally vary in size and shape and may be supplied in reused nursery pots or growing bags — perfectly useful plastic doesn't need replacing simply because it doesn't match.