Baptisias, commonly known as wild indigo or false indigo, are lovely garden plants, distantly related to peas and beans (along with their much closer relative, the lupin). There are around 20 species of Baptisia, all of which are native to North America. Flowering herbaceous perennial plants with pea-like blooms in spring, on impressive upright spikes, these come in shades of blue, white or yellow. They are followed by pods, which are sometimes filled with air.

The two most frequently seen species, Baptisia australis and Baptisia alba, grow to 90-120cm tall, whilst some other species grow no more than 30-60cm tall. Easy to grow, attractive, and requiring little in the way of maintenance, baptisias provide a spiky architectural form, especially as they emerge in spring. Wild indigo plants like being sited in full-sun to part-shade, and in a free-draining soil. Acidic soils are preferred, but they do make fine container plants if your soil is alkaline. They are also drought-tolerant plants.