Hi, this is Yolanda Vanveen, and in this segment, we're going to learn all about how to grow lady's mantle or alchemilla. It's a great ground cover from Eurasia. Now, lady's mantle, or alchemilla mollis, is sometimes called alchemilla vulgaris as well, and it's the most widely cultivated of all the alchemillas, and it's a low growing perennial, ideal for ground cover, and it's native to all of Europe, into Asia, so it can handle a wide range of climates, so it's hardy from zones three to nine, so it's actually really hardy, in even cold climates, and it will come back from year to year. Now, the plant itself, kind of looks a little bit like a geranium, and I love that it just makes a ground cover, that's really pretty, and this alchemilla mollis has scalloped green leaves, that are covered with starry chartreuse flowers in the summer, so in the summer, it gives you little tiny flowers, that are that lime green color, that are so pretty in the garden. They're really showy, so they make a great ground cover edging, or used for borders, so you put them in full sun, or part shade, because they're hardy to zones four or five, they can handle quite a bit of freezing temperatures, so they'll come back from year to year, as a perennial, if you live in a little bit of a warmer climate. If you live in really cold, cold climates like Alaska, you'd probably have to bring them in the doors for the winter, and then put them outside for the summer again, but they're easy to grow by seed in the spring, or you can actually take any divisional, almost like a strawberry too. You just take part of it, and you plant it, and it will make a new plant, and it will grow all summer long. You can always chop the greens off in the fall and the winter, as they die back, and then they'll just come back again in the spring. They're a gorgeous garden flower.
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