Family Boraginaceae
Originating from SW. Europe.
- Luxuriant and evergreen, deep green carpets of foliage make perfect ground cover.
- Deep royal blue flowers appear over a long season in spring and summer.
- Undemanding and easy to grow in full sun and well-drained soil.
Superb dark, rich green leaves make the perfect backdrop for lighter-coloured foliage, forming compact tight carpets, it has a well-branched structure that rarely grows taller than 20cm high. Even when not bearing its stunning floral display the minutely hairy stems and leaves are a great asset, forming undulating mounds that scramble around taller architectural plants, over and around stones in rockeries, or cascading over pots.
Unique and precious for bringing a rare and luxuriantly rich shade of royal blue to the ground covering level of planting schemes. The dense mats of star-shaped flowers are purple in bud and have purple throats adding further richness to the inky blue display, which lasts for many weeks during spring and summer. Further late flowering is possible in warm seasons in autumn.
It is a joy to add this shade of blue to coastal and Mediterranean-style gardens where it can contrast with the coloured foliage of Leucadendrons ‘Safari Sunset’, and ‘Mrs Stanley’, or Phormiums ‘Black Velvet’ and ‘Jester’, it also has the darkness to make white flowered Agapanthus like ‘Twister’, or ‘Queen Mum’ really stand out. It is perfect for spilling over stones in rockery gardens and cascading over planters in contemporary garden designs.
Native to Mediterranean climates, it appreciates freely draining soil but not drought conditions. A position where its roots can grow under stones or mulch is beneficial. Hardy and easy to grow in all but alkaline soils in full sun.
Height and spread after 2 – 3 years 15cm x 30cm
Semi-mature height and spread after 4 – 5 years 15cm x 60cm
