Buglossoides purpurocaerulea

Buglossoides pupurocaerulea is a perennial gromwell. It is a vigorous groundcover plant that eventually covers the soil in a dense network of stolons, so dense that very little else grows through it. Very useful in dry and barren areas of the garden, it also offers beautiful spring flowers. in the form of small clusters of red-purple flowers, opening up into striking gentian blue star-shaped corollas. Buds and corollas coexist on thin and rough foliage that will persist if the winter is not too harsh.  It is a plant well adapted to most climates, which will advantageously replace ivy between the roots of trees.

Buglossoides pupurocaerulea is a perennial plant of the Boraginaceae family, widespread from central and southern Europe to western Asia. In nature, this plant grows spontaneously in woods, under hedges and thickets, especially on limestone soils. The slightly hairy plant has a thick stump that emits long creeping sterile stems and erect flowering stems reaching 30 to 60 cm (12 to 24in) in height. The habit is a bit loose at first, but the plant quickly densifies. The stems bear semi-evergreen (depending on the climate), rough, lanceolate, narrow, and pointed leaves, which are dark green in colour. Flowering takes place from April to June. The purple and then blue flowers, 1.5 to 2 cm (1in) wide, are gathered in elongated clusters. They give way to white, shiny, very hard seeds like small pebbles. These seeds have earned it another name, Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum.

This gromwell is an excellent groundcover plant in shady and dry areas, capable of spreading over time. Useful for occupying barren areas of the garden or between shrubs, in any rather dry soil, it can accompany the yellow-flowered Waldsteinia ternata, or the fragrant foliage of Geranium macrorrhizum or the beautifully coloured dead-nettles.