Twinflower

Twinflower is a slender, trailing, semi-evergreen subshrub that creeps across the floor of cool boreal and montane forests across the Northern Hemisphere. In early summer it raises thread-like Y-shaped stalks, each bearing two nodding, bell-shaped, pale-pink flowers — the "twin" of its name — that release a sweet, almond-like fragrance, especially in the evening.

It was the favorite plant of Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern botanical naming, and the genus Linnaea was named in his honor. Forming delicate carpets, it is a treasure of woodland and cool shade gardens but demands cool, moist, acidic conditions.

• Flowers: Borne in nodding pairs on a forked stalk; each bell-shaped, 1 cm long, pale pink, fragrant.
• Leaves: Small, rounded to oval, evergreen, opposite, slightly toothed.
• Stems: Thin, trailing, rooting along the ground to form mats.
• Height: Very low, the foliage mat only a few centimeters high; flower stalks 5-10 cm.
• Habit: Creeping evergreen groundcover.

Light: Partial to full shade.

Water: Keep evenly moist; it dislikes drying out and needs cool roots.

Soil: Cool, moist, acidic, humus-rich woodland soil; resents heat.

Temperature: A cold-climate plant; struggles in hot, humid summers.

Feeding: Minimal; an acidic leaf-mould mulch suits it.

Propagation: Easiest from rooted runners or stem layers; seed is difficult.

Native across the cool temperate and boreal zones of the Northern Hemisphere — northern Europe, Asia, and North America — where it grows in coniferous and mixed forests, on mossy banks, and in cool, shaded, acidic soils.

It is challenging to cultivate outside cool climates, but in suitable regions it is grown in woodland and rock gardens as a fragrant, delicate native groundcover.