Scabiosa

Scabiosa or Scabious is a perennial, native to the warmer regions of southern Europe. During the Renaissance, it was brought from those regions to northern Europe where it was described in the 1613 book, Hortus Eystettensis. It was introduced into the gardens of Great Britain in the 1620s and by 1653 it was a preferred English garden plant. By the time Joseph Breck wrote his book, Breck’s Book of Flowers, on American flower gardening, Scabiosa, in a variety of colors, was well known to American gardeners. Breck stated, “There is a great variety in the flowers of different plants; some of them are almost black; others a dark puce purple, and various shades, down to lilac;” Botanists believe that the original Scabiosa color may have been the nearly black-burgundy that Breck referenced.