Continuous Bloom- Pulmonaria, Got Blue? April 14, 2014

Welcome to my Monday post, today I am linking with-

Blue Monday hosted by Smiling Sally

I Heart Macro hosted by Laura

Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma Wiseman

Catching the Light hosted by NatureFootstep

Ruby Tuesday Too hosted by Gemma Wiseman

In my search for continuous bloom, and for plants adapted to my growing conditions that would thrive without much effort on my part, a plant that knocks my socks off every spring is the Pulmonaria.   They have different leaf shapes, from elongated and strap-like to rounded, and varying degrees of "silver" variegation or spotting on the leaves.  They prefer shade to part shade and are reasonably drought-tolerant once established, though those that are in sunnier postions can lie there like a possum playing dead when thirsty in summer.  A really cool thing about them is that they gently self-sow, so will nicely pop up here and there, and by collecting a number of different leaf shapes and flower colors, I get seedlings that are varied and interesting.  Pulmonaria also make great foliage plants when not in bloom, and some are nearly evergreen while most disappear in winter.   Here the pale blue Roy Davidson on the left and deeper blue Benediction, which has few silvery splotches, on the right-

Close-ups-

Possibly Excalibur-

Another Pulmonaria with some Ajuga-

Other plants also in the Borage family are starting to bloom in spring, possessors of that Holy Grail, true blue flowers.  Common biennial Forget-Me-Nots, Myosotis, are champion and invasive reseeders, but cute until the dreaded powdery mildew strikes and I rip them out-

Delightful and dainty perennial Forget-Me-Not Brunnera makes a neat mound of foliage covered with tiny flowers, the foliage can also be edged with white or silvered-

Ground cover Comfrey, Symphytum grandiflora, is another Borage family plant, which is excellent in an orchard as it seems to be able to suppress weeds-

Note the characteristic scorpioid inflorescence and the change in color between bud and flower-

Here I was having an appalling Buttercup infestation under my raspberry plants-

so I transplanted some Comfrey into the war zone, and the Winner is-  Comfrey!

I have many other plants also blooming, Magnolia soulangeana 'Rustica Rubra' usually has 2-3 blooms but is loaded, I think because of the snow, which brings nitrogen down with it.   I expect my plums to be really loaded again like after another winter of heavy snow.

It is warm and sunny here, the weeds are growing too.  I hope your spring is full of flowers.

-Hannah

or cameras are macro

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