From the Greek gala, milk, in the past, to guide; the plant was used as fodder for cattle and goats and was thought to stimulate the circulate of milk (Leguminosae). Goat’s rue. A small genus of hardy herbaceous vegetation with pinnate leaves, helpful for the border. The one species more likely to be present in cultivation is G. officinalis, 3-5 toes tall with spikes of bluish sweet-pea‑formed flowers in summer time and autumn. It’s variable in flower color and has a number of varieties, together with alba, white flowers, and hartlandii with bigger flowers of a greater lilac than the kind. Cultivars embody ‘Duchess of Bedford’, mauve and white; ‘Her Majesty’, clear lilac; `Woman Wilson’, blue and white flushed with pink.
Cultivation Within the border, put the galegas effectively to the again or in the direction of the center in an island border in order that different vegetation can masks their tendency in the direction of untidiness. Mild twiggy stakes thrust in early within the season in order that the leaf development can conceal the help and on the similar time use it, are one of the best. Peculiar backyard soil is all that’s required and the plant does effectively on poor chalky soils. It stays pretty compact, so doesn’t want dividing too typically. Propagate by division of roots in October or March or from seed sown in April outdoor in a sunny place, thinned and later transplanted. Self-sown seedlings often seem in massive numbers.
