Brunnera macrophylla Silver Heart - Siberian Bugloss

Brunnera macrophylla 'Silver Heart' is a new Great Forget-Me-Not that combines many qualities. This variety has thick, silvery leaves that are finely veined with green. It also surprises and delights with its exceptional vigour and good resistance to heat. It is a deciduous groundcover perennial that thrives in cool shade, tolerates light sun, and becomes illuminated in spring with tall, truly blue flowers, as delicate as those of forget-me-nots. A superb easy ground cover, it can be planted under deciduous trees and bushes, and in neglected areas of the garden.

Brunnera macrophylla, also known as Siberian Bugloss, is a perennial belonging to the Boraginaceae family, like forget-me-nots and borage. It grows in forests in Eastern Europe and Northwestern Asia, on humus-rich soils. It is grown for its delicate flowers reminiscent of forget-me-nots and its groundcover habit that forms a thick carpet of deciduous foliage.

The 'Silver Heart' variety is a recent introduction from the Netherlands, a vigorous variety descending from Brunnera 'Looking Glass' and the famous 'Jack Frost' variety, which stands out for its good heat resistance. In April-May, numerous small, very blue flowers appear in light paniculate clusters (cone-shaped clusters). If care is taken to remove this first flowering when it fades, there may be a second bloom in autumn. At maturity, this Brunnera will reach 40 cm (16in) in height when in bloom. The foliage forms a generous mound of large heart-shaped, slightly villous leaves, with a final size of 12 to 16 cm (5 to 6in) in length. The clumps spread slowly through their rhizomatous roots but also self-seed quite easily, however new plants are not always true to the parent plant.

Very hardy, to -20°C (1°F), the 'Silver Heart' Giant Forget-Me-Not is a charming and robust groundcover.  it can be planted under deciduous trees and bushes, at the edge of woodland, or even on the banks of a pond. Its foliage brightens up shady areas and is very decorative in shaded pots and planters. It is also a good border plant that works wonders in wild gardens or informal perennial beds; combine with lamiums, blue hostas, purple heucheras, bleeding hearts, polychrome euphorbias, or columbines. It pairs well with spring-flowering bulbs, especially tulips.