Brunnera macrophylla Betty Bowring - Siberian Bugloss

Brunnera macrophylla Betty Bowring is a variety of Great Forget-Me-Not that is appreciated for its wonderful white flowers.  Flowers are highlighted against its deep, but vibrant green foliage.  Its forget-me-not flowers emerge in spring from a thick carpet of heart-shaped leaves, illuminating all the fresh and semi-shaded areas of the garden. This perennial, also known as Siberian Bugloss, is a very hardy, sturdy, and reliable plant, easy to grow in non-calcareous soil. 

Brunnera macrophylla is a herbaceous perennial belonging to the Boraginaceae family, just like forget-me-nots and borage. It lives in forests in eastern Europe and northwestern Asia, on moist and humus-rich soils. It is cultivated for its delicate flowers that resemble forget-me-nots and its ground-covering habit that forms a thick carpet of deciduous, decorative foliage from spring until early autumn.

The 'Betty Bowring' variety is vigorous and bears pure white flowers instead of blue like the wild species. In April-May, numerous small white flowers appear above a carpet of already developed leaves in light panicles (in conical clusters). If care is taken to remove this first flowering when it withers, there may be a second flush in autumn. This Brunnera will reach about 40 cm (16in) in height when in flower, and the foliage forms a generous mound of large, slightly hairy, heart-shaped leaves, with a final length of 12 to 14 cm (5 to 6in). The clumps slowly spread by their rhizomatous roots. The Caucasian forget-me-not self-seeds quite easily, not always faithfully to the mother plant. The foliage can dry out in summer during abnormal drought, to reform with the return of rain. Only dead and black leaves persist on the ground during winter, protecting the stump from the cold.

Very hardy, at least down to -20°C (1°F), the Great forget-me-not 'Betty Bowring' is a charming and robust groundcover, to be planted under deciduous trees and shrubs, on the edge of a grove, or even on the banks of a pond. Its foliage is very decorative in shaded pots and planters, and its white flowers bring light to the slightly darker areas of the garden. It is also a good border plant that works wonders in wild gardens or fairly informal perennial beds; for example, combine it with dead nettles, blue hostas, purple or caramel heucheras, bleeding hearts, polychrome euphorbias, or columbines. It pairs well with spring-flowering bulbs, especially small-flowered tulips and narcissi, in semi-shade.