Brunnera "Jack Frost"

Day 255: First, a word of explanation: I often use my blog posts as a botanical record, referring back to them for details about a plant, its phenological cycle, and sometimes even its nomenclature, so when I attempted to look up Brunnera because I had forgotten its name, I was surprised to see that nothing came up when I searched on "forget-me-not." Okay, Brunnera is not a true forget-me-not (Myosotis), but that was something I would have mentioned when discussing it. I found Pentaglottis, another forget-me-not look-alike, but there was no post about Brunnera, so I will remedy that today.

Brunnera is a comparatively non-invasive alternate for people who want that "forget-me-not blue" in their gardens. It is far less likely to spread, and easier to remove if it does attempt to escape its bounds. Flowers aside, many people grow it for its foliage with the silver-speckled varieties like "Jack Frost" (above) being exceptionally popular. The relatively large heart-shaped leaves are borne on a compact plant which can be pruned to maintain a mound-like shape if it gets leggy. Best of all, it prefers a sun-fleck environment, and in dappled light, those beguiling blue eyes are a guaranteed winner. Mine was a gift from my botany partners, Joe and Sharon.