Vicia cracca

A pretty scrambling plant that delights when in flower with its columnar flowering spikes of pea flowers, rather like those of a miniature lupin. The flowers are coloured blue-violet, and come from one side of the upright stalk. It flowers from June to August. The plant has paired leaves, pinnate, these are long and slender, stepladder-like. The twining stems support themselves by means of tendrils. It is found growing on roadside shrubs, in meadows and on shingle near the sea. The plant provides food for bees when in flower. It could be tried growing against an informal hedge in the garden.