05/13/2026
Covent Garden Babies Breath or Gypsophila elegans, is originally a wildflower from Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia that became especially popular in floral arrangements during Victorian times.
The annual variety is native to Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, and produces larger and more abundant flowers compared to its perennial relatives.
The “Covent Garden” variety specifically Covent Garden gypsophila was introduced in 1936 by the Grand Junction Seed Company of Colorado. despite the very English name, this beloved cultivar actually has American roots.
Why the name Covent Garden? Covent Garden traces its history back to land used by Westminster Abbey, seized by Henry VIII and eventually granted to the Earls of Bedford. By the mid-17th century, a flower and vegetable market had developed there.
A contemporary writer in 1862 captured it perfectly: “Few places surprise a stranger more than when he emerges suddenly from the Strand, and finds himself all at once in this little world of flowers.” Naming a delicate, cloud like flower after it was a natural tribute.
It’s also heat and drought resistant, preferring calcium-rich soil, as it is often found growing wild on gypsum deposits which is actually where the genus name Gypsophila “gypsum-loving” comes from.
A beautiful mix of Victorian romance, London history, native to Eastern Europe and Colorado horticulture all wrapped up in one wispy little bloom!
