The color plate opposite by photographer Paul Genereux shows the old-fashioned Germander speedwell (Veronica Chamaedrys) as it carpets the ground with blue in June.
There are so many kinds of veronicas that one may make a garden of them alone!
Two Classes of Veronica
Roughly they may be divided into two classes: the tall kinds, bold and erect for sunny or lightly shaded borders and beds with rich, amply watered soil, and the low types suited for the front of the border or bed, for the rock garden and to a limited extent as ground covers.
The lower ones have the same requirements as the taller ones except for a few that demand special care and others that do well only in semi-shade.
Of course, there is some overlapping between the two groups. Certain of the taller ones are used to good advantage, even in rock gardening.
Most veronicas are hardy anywhere in the United States, have a long blooming period, are easily cared for, and are disease-resistant.
A Veronica variety suits almost every place one might plant a hardy perennial!
Spire-like, Tall Veronicas
Certain of the tall veronicas are the best known. A favorite of many gardeners is V. spicata with its rugged 12-inch tall violet spikes in early summer above tidy 6-inch mounds of foliage.
Another similar but larger sort is V. longifolia subsessilis, which has been well-received in recent years.
The violet spikes of V. homophylla bloom later; it is distinguished by the unusual lacquered appearance of its leaves.
Of these types, V. spicata is inclined to be the most vigorous and least discriminating as to culture.
In the past few years, it has produced some handsome new pink introductions: `Pavane,’ Irish Rose,’ `Minuet’ and `Barcarole,’ Pavane’ has clear pink foot-high spikes standing stiffly above low, soft, green leaves.
‘Irish Rose’ has a deeper coloring. “Minuet” is an eye-catcher with distinct silvery gray foliage and dusty pink flowers.
V. incana Roma is very similar in appearance. Because of its intense rose-red, a color seldom seen in veronicas, ‘Barcarole’ is a real sensation.
Besides, it is of a tidy, compact habit, often not over ten inches high.
All of these new spicata introductions are permanent and reliable, produced over a long period ranging from June to August.
They are adaptable to a wide range of conditions and are drought-resistant. Most are of use as cut flowers.
Pink Flowers with Gray Foliage
Violet V. incana and its pink counterpart, V. incana, rosea, came from Russia. They resemble the spicata types in form; ever-crisp frosty gray leaves are their distinguishing feature.
Like the spicata forms with a much more informal, relaxed gracefulness are V. amethystine.
Still, other charmers in tall veronicas are showy spikes under a variety of names such as `Blue Peter,’ a rigid navy blue named for the blue flag displayed by ships ready to leave port, and ‘Crater Lake Blue’ of a rich deep color said to equal that of Oregon’s famous lake by that name. ‘Blue Champion’ has all the richness of a blue ribbon.
Also worthy of note are ‘Sunny Border Blue,’ Blue Spire’ and ‘Blue Candle.’
Take a large icicle, dip it in snow, turn it upside down, and you have the reflection from a spike of veronica ‘Icicle’ standing above a crisp bushy clump of foliage, making a total height of 18” to 24” inches.
During the summer, it makes an artistic display both in the garden and in an indoor vase; of like effect is a variety offered as white veronica subsessile.
Azure Blue Flowers in June
Departure from the steeple spike form is found in the following clusters of V. corymbosa, V. austriaca has this quality and, in addition, boasts distinct pinnate or fern-like foliage.
Both of these varieties are broad, rounded clumps of about 1 ½’ feet, revealing masses of sky-reflecting azure in June.
If you were not told, you would hardly guess that the species gentianoides is a veronica at all. From a smooth, leathery rosette of leaves, it bears a spire of large, wide-eyed blooms that individually resemble those of flax, both in shape and color and in the time of bloom.
A native of the Balkans, it is not common; a welcome acquisition for any garden.
The low veronicas remain, among them, many choice subjects for the foreground of the border and the rock garden.
Perhaps most popular in this group is V. rupestris, which produces virtual clouds of royal blue on procumbent three-inch racemes in June.
Variety `Hav-a-look’ is a baby-blue form of the same. A pink type (V. rupestris roses) and a white one (V. rupestris alba) are equally fascinating but quite rare.
One who is interested in the tall spicata types will not want to overlook their perfect miniatures, V. spicata nana in deep blue and V. spicata nana alba in white. They have all the virtues of the tall sorts and are never over four inches tall.
A common Veronica that can be very pretty is V. chamaedrys, the Germander speedwell. In June, its trailing sapphire racemes are at home in many old-fashioned gardens; it also comes in white.
Most of the shrubby veronicas are from New Zealand and do not prove hardy in the northernmost regions.
However, two European exceptions will withstand almost arctic cold. One of these, V. guthrie ana, gives a polished leather effect with its thicket of tiny leaves seldom totaling over six inches high; its blue blooms are borne in racemes in June.
The other, V. fruticosa, has lavender clusters in June over lower, less compact foliage. Also suggesting the shrubby sorts are V. satureioides and V. fruticans (or saxatilis) which are rock garden gems, often requiring special attention.
Red Flowers, Wooly Gray Foliage
A real curiosity is V. pectinate from Asia Minor; it forms a thick gray mass with red blooms in the spring.
The whole is not over 3” inches high and gives the effect of a wooly blanket. Less fuzzy and with greenish foliage and blue bloom, V. multifida is like a habit.
Veronica armena is a ferny beauty, the stems of which spread out from a single crown to form a delicate mat that bears blue blooms in early or midsummer.
Certain of the mat-forming veronicas make fine limited ground covers, especially for lightly shaded areas. Among these is V. allionii, a shiny leafed carpet adorned with three-inch spikes in July.
A more rapid and complete cover is V. filiformis which makes a delicate pale green mosaic of leaves graced by faint blue florets in early summer.
V. repens has closely set glossy leaves almost obscured by a host of china blue flowers in June making it a real eye-catcher.
Among the wild American veronicas which are sometimes offered for gardens are V. officinalis, with long prostrate shoots of attractive glaucous leaves making a complete cover for woodsy places, and Westerner, V. cusickii, which provides pretty violet racemes for semi-shade.
How To Propagate Veronicas
The increase of veronicas is easiest and most successful from the root division of plants.
A few sorts may be grown from seed given the usual culture and patience accorded this method of raising perennials.
44659 by Donald G. Allen