Expect masses of true cornflower-blue flowers from seed of this charming, easy-to-please annual. Delightful in borders and cottage garden settings, where it will attract butterflies and bees, the long-stemmed Blue Ball is also a splendid cut flower and was once widely grown commercially in East Anglia for this purpose. The blooms can also be dried if desired. Cornflower is an easy-to-grow hardy annual which flowers the same year as sowing. Its seeds can be sown direct in the garden where it is to flower. Once a common sight in cornfields before the use of herbicides, it does well in full sun on well-drained soils, including those which are dry, of low fertility or chalky.