Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) is a hardy perennial wildflower often seen lining streams, wet meadows, and ditches across the UK countryside. Its elegant plumes of creamy-white flowers appear from June to September, attracting a host of pollinators, including bees, hoverflies, and other beneficial insects. The leaves are dark green and divided, with a pleasant, herbal scent when crushed.
This plant has deep roots in British folklore and was once used to scent homes, flavour mead, and even relieve pain before modern medicine, its name nodding to its use in "mead-sweetening." Today, it's still valued for its natural charm, ecological importance, and suitability in wildlife and wildflower gardens.
Meadowsweet prefers moist or even poorly drained soils and is well-suited for pond edges, stream borders, rain gardens, or areas of your garden where the soil tends to stay damp. Once established, it’s low-maintenance and spreads gently by rhizomes to form attractive drifts of flower.
