Jack Frost In Morning Light

Day 179: The silver-blotched leaves of Brunnera "Jack Frost" fairly glow in morning light, and although its flowers resemble those of the forget-me-not, it is an unrelated genus. It is delightfully hardy and non-invasive (unlike the aforementioned forget-me-nots), and is a rewarding addition to any shady flower bed, providing a double reward of dainty flowers and attractive foliage. Mine was a gift from my botany partners and lives at the end of my carport where it only catches a few hours of sun in the early morning.

Ol' Blue Eyes Are Back

Day 196: Frank Sinatra might have sung it with a slight grammatical revision: Ol' Blue Eyes Are Back. Brunnera "Jack Frost" and Lithodora are center stage in my flower beds currently, the only blue I'm likely to see outdoors for at least the next week. And they are intense! While Brunnera resembles those pesky forget-me-nots I keep pulling, it does not have the same tendency to spread. The foliage of "Jack Frost" is particularly lovely, and even once the flowers have faded, it brightens the shady area at the end of my carport. Lithodora is a ground cover, evergreen foliage reminiscent of rosemary, and even in winter, it nearly always provides at least a few winks of its blue eyes. I love it when my garden is singing the blues!

Joe's Brunnera

Day 189: I have to rib my botany partners a little bit here. Last year, they brought a commercially-grown plant for my garden which upon first glance, I nearly refused because it looked astonishingly similar to a forget-me-not (Myosotis). There was a tag in the pot, though, so I graciously accepted it, all the while thinking I might wind up regretting the impulse. The tag told me that it was a Brunnera called "Jack Frost" for its silvery leaves. A little further digging with the Google shovel revealed that it was unlikely to spread, but offered some cautions about not allowing it to set seed. I diligently removed the flowering heads as the blossoms faded, and found myself rather enjoying the foliage in and of itself. It died back in late autumn as expected, and...Joe, forgive me!...I told myself I wasn't going to be heartbroken if it didn't come back in spring. That said, when it broke ground a few weeks ago, I was happy to see it had returned. If it does spread a bit, I won't mind. It gives a bit of colour to an awkward spot at the end of my carport. I'll pinch the tips when they're done flowering, but if I miss a few, it won't be the end of the world.

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.