Silvery Brunnera: the most beautiful varieties
Our selection for brightening shade gardens
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Silver Brunnera, with their delicately variegated foliage and spring flowering, are perfect for brightening shaded corners in the garden. They are also known as Caucasian forget-me-nots with silver foliage and sometimes Siberian bugloss. Ideal as groundcover, these perennial plants are also appreciated for their ease of cultivation and their frosty colour palette. Discover our selection of the finest silver Brunnera varieties to brighten shaded gardens and other poorly lit corners.
Brunnera macrophylla ‘Looking Glass’
Brunnera macrophylla ‘Looking Glass’, with heart-shaped foliage, distinguishes itself by its silvery leaves, almost devoid of green, forming a bright perennial groundcover. This variety, derived from the famous ‘Jack Frost’, offers in April–May sky-blue spring flowers, reminiscent of forget-me-nots. Suited to cool shade, it also tolerates light sun, thriving in cool, fertile, humus-bearing and well-drained soil.
With a height of about 30 cm when in bloom, its large, slightly velvety leaves form an attractive leafy cushion, ideal under trees, at the edge of a grove or near a pond. Its robustness and frost tolerance down to -20°C in winter make it a perfect choice for brightening shaded areas, in pots or in containers. It can be paired with a dead-nettle, the variegated leaves of a hosta ‘Silver Crown’ or the white flowers of Myosotis ‘Snowsylva’, not forgetting spring-flowering bulbs.
Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’
The Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ is a perennial prized for its groundcover habit and its blue flowers reminiscent of forget-me-nots. Flowering in May–June, it forms a dense carpet of deciduous, silvery leaves, strongly veined with green, measuring up to 15 cm long. This plant, reaching up to 50 cm in height at ripeness, is very hardy, resistant to -20°C.
This Brunnera thrives in shade or partial shade in moist, rich and well-drained soil, well suited to wild gardens and to loose perennial borders. It pairs harmoniously with spring bulbs, such as the tulips ‘Hibernia’ and other shade-loving perennials. Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’ is also ideal for container displays, but it also finds its place at the border, alongside the poetic flowering of a Dicentra spectabilis ‘Alba’ or a Geranium sylvaticum ‘Album’.
Brunnera macrophylla 'Mr Morse'
If you prefer white-flowering displays, the Brunnera macrophylla ‘Mr Morse’ is for you. Indeed, this Siberian bugloss variety is distinguished by its panicles of white flowers. Blooms in March–April, this Brunnera forms a dense carpet of deciduous foliage, reaching 30–40 cm in all directions at maturity. Perfectly hardy (down to -20°C), ‘Mr Morse’ has silvery, green-veined, velvety, heart-shaped leaves. They closely resemble those of the variety ‘Jack Frost’ and offer an attractive display in pots and in the garden.
Ideal for borders, ‘Mr Morse’ suits wild gardens or informal perennial borders and containers, bringing softness and brightness to shaded spaces thanks to its white flowers. Easy to grow, it pairs harmoniously with spring-flowering bulbs, notably the Tulips ‘Hibernia’, or in semi-shaded displays, alongside a Hosta ‘Silver Crown’ and Tiarella cordifolia ‘Moorgrun’.
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Choosing a Brunnera: our buying guideBrunnera macrophylla ‘Alexander's Great’
The Brunnera macrophylla ‘Alexander’s Great’ is a giant version of the famous ‘Jack Frost’. This groundcover deciduous perennial is distinguished by its silvery foliage, deeply veined with green, and its large heart-shaped leaves. Originating from a spontaneous mutation in a Belarusian garden, this Caucasian forget-me-not rises to 60 cm in flower and spreads to 80–90 cm, forming lush foliage that covers almost a square metre. Its spring flowering, reminiscent of forget-me-nots, can last until early summer.
Very hardy, withstanding temperatures down to -20°C, it adapts well to woodland patches or shaded areas of the garden, spreading slowly but surely. In April–May, its numerous small deep-blue flowers brighten the shaded areas, pairing well with spring bulbs, notably pink or purple tulips. Ideal for edging along a path, under deciduous trees and shrubs, this Brunnera is also perfect for wild gardens and for borders in partial shade. It blends harmoniously with Viola ‘Matrix White’, an Anemone coronaria ‘The Bride’ or other perennials for partial shade.
Brunnera macrophylla 'Silver Heart'
The Brunnera macrophylla ‘Silver Heart’, a recent cultivar of Caucasian forget-me-not, is distinguished by its thick, silvery foliage, finely veined with green, as well as its exceptional vigor and good heat tolerance. This deciduous groundcover perennial thrives in shade and tolerates partial sun. Easy to grow, it simply requires not-too-dry soil, spreading quickly and naturalising easily in woodland. In April–May, it bears numerous small blue flowers arranged in delicate panicles. Forming a cushion of large, heart-shaped, slightly villous leaves, it is very hardy, withstanding down to -20°C.
Perfect under trees, on the edge of woodland, or even along a pond’s edge, ‘Silver Heart’ brightens shaded areas and is decorative in pots and planters. Ideal in borders, in wild gardens or perennial borders, it pairs well with spring-flowering bulbs, such as Muscari ‘Dark Eyes’, and with other perennials such as the Geranium sylvaticum ‘Album’.
Brunnera macrophylla ‘Emerald Mist’
The Brunnera macrophylla ‘Emerald Mist’, is a pretty variety of Caucasian forget-me-not whose soft green foliage is marbled with silver, less intense than the varieties we have just seen previously. It forms a deciduous groundcover, very hardy (down to -20°C) and decorative, valued for its heart-shaped foliage. This plant, reaching 40 cm in height with a spreading and dense habit, offers a thick carpet of greenery punctuated with silver. In May, panicles of delicate flowers, of a pure blue, bloom, brightening the garden throughout the season.
Preferring humus-bearing, light soil that remains slightly damp but well-drained, ‘Emerald Mist’ thrives in partially shaded areas of the garden. In addition to its use as groundcover, this variety lends itself magnificently to pot culture, in a perennial border, or in a wild garden. It creates harmonious displays when paired with hardy geraniums, daffodils and Epimediums bringing a touch of brightness.
Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack's Gold’
Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack’s Gold’ is a new and bright variety of Caucasian forget-me-not. A descendant of the famous Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’, ‘Jack’s Gold’ distinguishes itself by the golden tones of its young foliage, which gradually fade to a silvery hue. At maturity, it forms a leafy carpet 50 cm across in all directions, whose heart-shaped leaves, initially gold-veined and later silver-veined, create an elegant metallic effect. From May to June, this handsome perennial is adorned with delicate blue flowers, recalling forget-me-nots. Easy to grow, it prefers cool, moist soils and shaded or partially shaded areas in the garden. It is also superb in a container for summer displays.
Hardy to -15°C, this Brunnera is ideal under trees and deciduous shrubs, brightening dark areas. Perfect in borders, in wild gardens or in perennial borders, it harmonises with other shade-loving perennials, such as the Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’ but also with grasses, such as the Hakonechloa macra and the Carex.
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