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Monday, April 14, 2014

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

©Weeding on the Wild Side, all rights reserved.




17 comments:

  1. Hi Hannah,

    I just love these blue blooms. There are so few flowers which are truly blue.

    I'm looking forward to reading your comment on my blue pig post. Please come back.

    Have a Happy Blue Monday and an excellent Easter celebration!

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  2. Oops, my mistake! I just saw your kind comment. Please forgive me.

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    1. I always try to comment immediately but it is tricky with multiple links. I have lots of blue flowers at the moment but it is a rare color in the garden, most tend toward purple.

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  3. Super Blues, but your last close up is the best. ( IMHO) Cheers, Jean.

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    1. Thanks, my Magnolia really outdid itself this year, sensational.

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  4. The magnolia are so dreamy! Good to know about the Comfrey:) I'll envy your plums .-they're so much tastier home grown!

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    1. One thing about the Comfrey, it doesn't spread in an unlimited fashion, like it has stayed under the trees in the orchard and not come up at a distance like the buttercups or my lemon balm disaster, but if I wanted to get rid of it I would have a lot of difficulty. I think smothering indefinitely is the only thing that will work with really rhizomatous plants.

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  5. My favourite is no. 7.... would like them growing in my yard!

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  6. I'm thinking you mean the Brunnera- they are great plants. They don't make an invasive pest of themselves like biennial Forget-Me-Nots. My white-edged one is reverting to green though, and I haven't bought the silver one yet, though it is on my wish list. I couldn't seem to come up with some orange this week.;-(

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    1. If I'm counting wrong, the Magnolia is magnificent this year but it is for the first time. But I'll take it.

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  7. Those are lovely shots! ♥

    I'm here for Blue Monday. Here's my Blue Monday post; Me as The Tour Guide

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    1. Your blog wouldn't let me comment without a FB account I don't have.

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  8. Love your beautiful gardens!

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  9. Gorgeous garden photos! Thanks for sharing. I missed linking with Sally this week but still have my blues on my blog. Have a beautiful week and Happy Easter to you!

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  10. Wonderful spring flowers! We're supposed to get a little warmer for Easter and I hope we'll get more flowers soon.

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  11. Exquisite floral photography ~ love the wildflowers and Magnolia shots are excellent ~ Happy Week to you ~ xoxo

    artmusedog and carol (A Creative Harbor)

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