There's a wonderful, unpretentious, and seemingly inconspicuous flower called matthiola, which smells so delicately in the evenings that you just want to sit and inhale its aroma. Matthiola glabra is one of the most popular of the more than 50 species of matthiola. Matthiola bicornis, better known as the stock, is also popular.
The botanist Pietro Matthioli named the flower. Even the ancient Greeks decorated banquet halls with armfuls of this flower, which bestowed a magical aroma upon visitors. Native to southern Europe, the plant's flowers range from white to delicate purple, its stems are upright, and it blooms profusely.
See also: Aquilegia planting and care in open ground: photo.
Planting by seeds
Matthiola scaena can be planted from seeds in May or grown as seedlings in March for early flowering. Matthiola scaena can only be grown from seeds; it does not tolerate transplanting from seedlings. It prefers well-drained, moist soil (but not stagnant water) and a sunny location. One caveat: plant it away from cabbage and choose a site not preceded by cruciferous plants, as it will immediately pick up their diseases and the same pests that attack cabbage, giving it no peace.
To plant matthiola from seeds, sow the seeds in a prepared area as soon as the weather warms up, in April or May. Repeat the sowing in a different area two weeks later. This will prolong the matthiola's flowering period. You can plant it a third time, and you'll have fragrant matthiola until autumn.
In March, you can plant the seeds in boxes with a mixture of turf and sand, and lightly cover them with soil. Don't water them until the sprouts appear—then just give them a little water and transfer them to a cool room where the temperature doesn't exceed 12 degrees Celsius. After a couple of weeks, transplant them, and at the end of the month, transfer them to the ground with a lump of soil (preferably in peat pots).
Caring for Matthiola
Water regularly—but don't overwater, remove faded blooms, and feed with minerals. That's the whole trick to caring for matthiola.
Read more: Why does garlic turn yellow in spring? What should I do?.