Long before Google and Facebook, young women had no trouble finding out if the new man in town had a wife. They just looked at his buttons. In medieval times, buttons were made of cloth, and if they weren’t kept mended, the cloth frayed. Tattered buttons were an indication the man didn’t have a wife to keep his buttons neat and tidy.

Bachelor’s Button, with petals resembling a frayed cloth button, was once popular as a boutonniere. John F. Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr. wore Bachelor’s Button on their lapels when they married.

In Europe, all grain crops are called “corn.” It doesn’t matter if wheat, rye, oats or barley is growing in a field — it’s still a “corn” field.

Cornflowers — as Bachelor’s Button is also known — grew in and around the fields like weeds … and aggressive ones at that.

In the United King­dom today, cornflowers are considered an “endangered weed.” Fifty years ago, there were 264 sites where cornflowers grew. Now, there are three. Agri­cultural intensification, destruction of habitat and herbicides are thought to have decimated the cornflower.

Whether you recognize this flower as Centaurea cyanus, cornflower, Bachelor’s Button, Bluebottle, Hurtsickle or Cyani, it is a member of the Asteraceae family. This time of year, any self-respecting store with a seed rack will have Bachelor’s Button seeds.

Bachelor’s Button is hardy to Zone 4, and deer don’t like it. Neither do insects or plant diseases like mildew. The seeds germinate easily and require only full sun, an average amount of water and workable soil.

You can broadcast them or use them as fillers in your garden beds. Cover seeds with a dusting of soil and keep them moist until they’re established.

Bachelor’s Button grows with loose clusters of grey-green leaves that complement the flowers, which are blessed with an intense blue pigment. They will bloom from June until August, and once established, they tolerate the most severe drought conditions.

You can deadhead the flowers and save the seed for next year. You can even cut the plant back by half. Your reward for tidiness will be patches of cornflower blue accenting your fall colors.

Centaurea cyanus is considered a “beneficial” weed. It adds delicate color and a peppery taste to our salads. Dried Bachelor’s Button petals are an ingredient in some blends of the Lady Grey tea produced by Twinings. Most often, Twinings uses bergamot in Lady Grey, but if you notice an extra kick, check the ingredients for Centaurea cyanus.

Bachelor’s Button, through steam distillation, produces a mild astringent and an alcohol-free toner. Herbalists use the water as an eye-wash to stave off conjunctivitis and as a balm for sore, tired eyes.

Given the right growing conditions, almost any plant can become a nuisance. Many gardeners think of Bachelor’s Button as a self-sowing thug. I’m not one of them. Enthusiastic self-sowing has always been welcome in my garden.

Except when it comes to Japanese Honeysuckle.

Japanese Honeysuckle is another story.

Contact Teresa Futrick @esroyllek@hotmail.com