One of the most striking summer flowers for the border is Knautia macedonica, related to scabious, including the wild blue-flowered devil's bit scabious and sheep's scabious. In the case of this knautia, the flowers are dark wine-red in colour, but the loose growth habit of the plant is similar.

The red-flowered species is native to central Europe, hence the reference to Macedonia. The garden plant is not far removed from the wild species, as is evidenced by its floppy, rather haphazard growth habit. But this is part of its charm.

Planted in the middle or towards the front of a mixed border, the knautia extends its wiry flower stems in every direction, reaching past nearby flowers. Each flower is a pincushion with tiny white spots over the surface of the rich wine-red flowers. It flowers for ages, the new flowers following the older ones in succession. Part of the beauty of this plant is the succession of flowers in bud as well as those open; the placement of the new buds, and those gone out of flower, creates an airy matrix of colour and form.

Knautia is easy to grow. It likes a warm sunny spot in well-drained soil, not too rich. It looks great with blue or pink flowers and is spectacular with silver or grey foliage, or glaucous foliage.