I have wide varieties of veronicas in my several borders, giving much of the all-summer color in my plantings. The tall blue flowered sorts double in hot, dry sections for delphiniums which are not reliably hardy here.
Since my borders are extensive, I have come to use “self-supporting” plants as much as possible. Veronicas completely fulfill this requirement.
Not only do they luxuriate in well-drained soil in hot sunny situations, but they thrive in semi-shade. Neither insects nor diseases bother them. Minimum attention will produce sheaves of bloom.
Veronica Species and Variety
There is a Veronica species and variety to satisfy every landscaping need. For example, low-growing sorts are perfect for the rock garden, in chinks in dry walls, to cover a bank, to perform as ground cover under and about shrubs, or to add edging color.
Tall sorts have multiple uses in the border, while foreground species are charming as accenting spots of color. Bloom may be had from late May to September from the almost endless list of varieties.
Most are available from plant nurseries, but many species—and usually the most interesting and rarer sorts—are to be had only from seed, which often blooms a little in the first year if sown early.
Since veronicas are completely hardy and gain in beauty with the years, both purchased plants and seed-grown stock may be considered lifetime investments.
Veronica Amethystine
Among the liveliest foreground plants in my borders is V. amethystine. Beginning the season in late May. These compact 15-inch plants are a mass of starry intense blue bloom.
Late Flowering Blue Peter
A later-flowering member of the group is Blue Peter. The rich navy blue blossoms are produced in profusion on foot-and-a-half stiff spikes.
Crater Lake Blue is a little lighter in tone but has the same growing tendencies and mass color effect.
Veronica Spicata
The new English veronicas (V. spicata) in the same 15- to 24-inch group are among the most recent ornamental perennials.
They are exceptionally lavish with successive bloom, which is nice for cutting, and retain their color through the hottest summer days.
Icicle
Icicle is the white-flowered variety of the trio. It blooms throughout summer and into fall if faded racemes are kept out.
The quality of white is clear—not tinged with blue, as are so many varieties of basically blue flowers.
In the border, this sort fairly glistens with whiteness. It is a cool and refreshing note among summer’s usually bright-colored flowers.
Pavanne
Pavanne is Icicle’s taller clear pink counterpart. It, too, withstands heat and drought and produces flowers from late June to September.
Minuet’s bloom is a soft dusty pink, very lovely in contrast to the plant’s silvery-gray foliage.
This group of foreground veronicas is charming as vertical accents with massive materials like the dicentra hybrids, gypsophila, etc.
The pink and deep blue sorts against a background of artemisia Silver King (A. albula) make a beautiful picture and are equally engaging with anthemis Moonlight, Belladonna delphiniums, Shasta daisies, and white Phlox decussata.
Phlox Decussata
Dominating my borders in summer are Phlox decussata of many colors. Contrasting and softening flower colors are needed to add interest and promote harmony. Several Veronica varieties do this successfully.
Veronica Longiflorum
I especially value the yard-high V. longiflorum that I grew from seed. Its misty lavender blue flowers harmonize with almost any other flower color. Unfortunately, this sort needs staking since the stems are thin and not erect.
The long-blooming Royal Blue is delightful for a less tall accent with red, pink, or white phlox and Silver King artemisia.
The 2-foot-tall Blue Champion blooming throughout early summer is a must to accompany aquilegias, regal white lilies, and the low-growing white phlox, Miss Lingard.
Veronica Holyophyla
V. holyophyla I grew from seed. Not knowing exactly what to expect, I was so delighted at the appearance of the compact plant with its large serrated shining leaves that I felt bloom would be gilding the lily.
However, the bloom is entrancing and slightly different in the shape of the spike from other veronicas. A sort of rosette of long compact cones of deep blue flowers surmounts each branchlet.
Growing beside a wide clump of anthemis Moonlight, this veronica foliage contrasts with the ferny leaves of the anthemis.
Rock gardens or edging veronicas are endearing little plants, miniature replicas of their taller relatives.
Veronica Incana
V. incana is a perfect example of this group. Its wooly, silvery foliage hugs the ground and spreads to form a mat studded with 9-inch spikes of violet-blue bloom.
Barcarole, an English importation, makes a conspicuous spot of color from June to September with a myriad of deep rose flower spikes.
Veronica Rupestris
V. rupestris is also a good rockery plant and an excellent ground cover. It grows only a few inches high and has thickly matted deep green foliage studded with bright blue flowers in June. No prettier carpeting could be chosen in drywall, about a bird bath or sundial.
In a neighbor’s garden, I admired spring when the blue flowers contrasted pleasingly with several small yellow daffodil species acting as ground cover.
Veronica Repens
Familiar to many gardeners is V. repens. Its endearing tiny sky-blue flowers arc a fairy carpet in spring about flowering bulbs, between paving stones or in the border. Then, unfortunately, it becomes a weed.
Where Veronicas Come From
Most of the veronicas mentioned here may be had from nurseries specializing in perennials—such as Wayside Gardens, Mentor, Ohio; Lamb Nurseries, Spokane, Washington, and others—yet many of the rare kinds are to be had only from seed.
It is an exciting experience to grow them, for even with detailed descriptions in seed catalogs, one never knows just what he will get.
My seeds came from Rex Pearce, Moorestown, N. J.; Geo. Park Seed Co., Greenwood, S. C., and (several very special kinds) from Thompson and Morgan, Ipswich, England.
44659 by Martha Haislip