The Forget-Me-Not Look-Alike That'll Add Some Blue To Your Garden

Blue flowers create a soothing atmosphere when they're grown near plants sporting icy whites and cool purples. They also help orange flowers pop by lending a contrasting hue to the landscape. Blue blossoms are even skilled at attracting bees to your garden. Though blue isn't terribly common in nature, it's one of the colors these buzzing pollinators can perceive easily. Plus, bees know that blue flowers tend to make more nectar than most. To add more blue to your garden, consider planting brunnera (Brunnera macrophylla). Sometimes called Siberian bugloss or false forget-me-not, brunnera is as adaptable as it is showy. You can cultivate clumps of it in a cottage garden, install it as a woodland border, or use it as a ground cover to discourage weeds and erosion. This shade-loving perennial can brighten up dark garden corners and patches of ground that won't support grass.

Each saucer-shaped brunnera flower has five petals and a white center, much like a forget-me-not. The plant grows to a height of 12 to 18 inches, offering bunches of tiny blossoms in the spring. As its rhizomes creep outward underground, brunnera expands horizontally, often reaching a width of 2 feet or more. Brunnera is a solid choice for gardens in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 8, which cover much of the United States. When selecting a planting site, opt for a spot with partial to deep shade and nutrient-rich soil with adequate drainage. Most brunnera varieties appreciate soil with a pH level between 6.0 and 7.0, so they will happily coexist with azaleas and other plants that crave shady, acidic growing sites.

Each type of brunnera comes with a unique set of features and preferences. This means that some types are better suited than others for certain garden conditions. For instance, if you have soil that's quite acidic or mildly alkaline, then 'Hadspen Cream' is calling your name. It can handle pH levels between 4.5 and 7.5, a wider range than most other cultivars. If your garden isn't very shady but would benefit from brunnera's blue hue, take a look at the 'Looking Glass,' one of the few types that will accept full sunlight.

If the planting site you've prepared is shady and mildly acidic, you have lots of brunnera options. In this case, you may want to choose a cultivar based on looks. 'Alexander's Great' is prized for its variegated leaves, which form thick mats that help hold up its 18-inch flower stalks. If you need a variety that can withstand droughts or want to add some light-colored foliage to your garden, try 'Silver Heart' or 'Jack Frost.' Both have silver leaves with deep green veining and heart-like shapes. Meanwhile, 'Sea Heart' offers the opposite: deep green leaves with silver veining. With a typical height of 12 inches, it's a little shorter than some of its relatives.

No matter which variety you choose, you're likely to find brunnera easy to grow. They're excellent at dodging pests and diseases, though they may attract slugs from time to time. Should this happen, try placing beer traps in your garden to catch slugs that are headed for your brunnera.