Bellis perennis, on its common name English Daisy, is a low-growing, herbaceous perennial, but grown as a biennial or annual in colder zones. The original species of this plant is a small perennial native to Europe, commonly growing in short grass, lawns, roadsides, bare ground and rocky places, bearing small daisy-like flowers in white or shades of pink, especially in bud. Actual garden cultivars are more robust and bear larger blooms, with single, semi-double or double button flowers, in colors that vary from white to yellow, pink, orange, red, salmon and ruby.
English Daisies are suitable for rock gardens, bed and borders, edging or grown in containers, for window and balcony boxes. It also makes a good ground cover. They flower from spring to early summer, but they will be in bloom all year, with sporadic flowering until frost. They like cool, moist weather, in a place with fertile soil, in full sun to partial shade.
Propagation is easy, by sowing seeds in early spring or summer or by division in early spring, before flowering or in autumn, after flowering. You may want to deadhead the plants to prevent self-seeding. The seeds will germinates in 1 or 2 weeks at 20 Celsius degrees (68 F). The seedlings should be pricked out when large enough to handle and hardened-off before planting to their outdoor places, in late summer to early autumn.
