Brunnera 'Betty Bowring'

Brunnera 'Betty Bowring' is a fabulous herbaceous perennial, forming a clump up to 45cm high, and a little more across. It produces broad sprays of small, white, delicate-looking star-shaped flowers. Technically, this plant is listed as flowering in April and May; in reality, however, it frequently flowers as early as February and as late as June. The blooms make a dramatic contrast to the large, heart-shaped, mid- to deep green leaves on long stalks. These leaves are every bit as attractive as the flowers. The flowers rise on narrow stems, which grow taller as the leaves emerge, so they never get smothered. You may even get a second flush of flowers in late summer.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Betty Bowring' produces nectar-rich flowers, so it is a great attraction for early-flying bees. The foliage forms good clumps throughout the warmer months, which is great for softening the edges of paths, or mixing in with other shade-loving plants, such as Hosta, Pulmonaria and Lamium. This white-flowering Siberian bugloss is more tolerant of sun than some varieties, but only if grown in a moisture-retentive soil.