PLANT: Veronica Spicata 'Ulster Dwarf Blue'
Common name: Spiked Speedwell 'Ulster Dwarf Blue'
Latin species name: Veronica Spicata (pronounced - VU-ronica spih-CATA)
I'm in the middle of making a large blue and white flowerbed, which is supposed to emulate the sky above (blue with floating clouds). It is an 'island bed' so to speak, as you can walk all the way around it. I considered making it an irregular shape, but there was something attractive about a perfect circle when I laid it out in string. It is not so easy to find long-flowering blue coloured hardy perennials, but this is an exception (albeit I have to be a little open-minded about hues of purple, mauve and violet being considered blue for the purposes).
Veronica is a large genus of flowering plants, with veronica spicata being the species which produces long coloured spikes, greatly loved by bees. The species is native to the UK and is a protected wildflower. An example of the wild variety is shown below (courtesy of ukwildflowers.com):
The wildflower is well documented in remote parts of Northern England and Wales, but there appear to be no records of it in Ireland, which is intriguing given this cultivar's name. If anyone knows the origin of the Ulster title, please let me know. The remainder of the cultivar name is relatively easy to interpret. This version is shorter, more compact and bushy than in the species others (hence dwarf) and it's flowers are a sort of bluish purple colour.
I have dotted a few of these around the bed so far and the bees and butterflies really love them. The main tip with keeping them happy is plenty of good drainage to help them last the winter, so I dug in a few inches of small stones to the bottom of the planting hole. I can't wait until these bush up and I can upload a picture in August of them in their full glory.
Latin species name: Veronica Spicata (pronounced - VU-ronica spih-CATA)
I'm in the middle of making a large blue and white flowerbed, which is supposed to emulate the sky above (blue with floating clouds). It is an 'island bed' so to speak, as you can walk all the way around it. I considered making it an irregular shape, but there was something attractive about a perfect circle when I laid it out in string. It is not so easy to find long-flowering blue coloured hardy perennials, but this is an exception (albeit I have to be a little open-minded about hues of purple, mauve and violet being considered blue for the purposes).
Veronica is a large genus of flowering plants, with veronica spicata being the species which produces long coloured spikes, greatly loved by bees. The species is native to the UK and is a protected wildflower. An example of the wild variety is shown below (courtesy of ukwildflowers.com):
The wildflower is well documented in remote parts of Northern England and Wales, but there appear to be no records of it in Ireland, which is intriguing given this cultivar's name. If anyone knows the origin of the Ulster title, please let me know. The remainder of the cultivar name is relatively easy to interpret. This version is shorter, more compact and bushy than in the species others (hence dwarf) and it's flowers are a sort of bluish purple colour.
I have dotted a few of these around the bed so far and the bees and butterflies really love them. The main tip with keeping them happy is plenty of good drainage to help them last the winter, so I dug in a few inches of small stones to the bottom of the planting hole. I can't wait until these bush up and I can upload a picture in August of them in their full glory.
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