Brunnera macrophylla Looking Glass - Siberian Bugloss

Brunnera macrophylla 'Looking Glass', with its frosted leaves that are almost entirely silver, is a particularly bright Giant Forget-me-not. This variety, a worthy descendant of the famous 'Jack Frost', also surprises and delights with its sky blue spring flowers like forget-me-nots. It is a deciduous perennial groundcover that is perfectly hardy and thrives in damp shade but also tolerates sunlight. A superb easy ground cover, it can be planted under deciduous trees and shrubs and in neglected areas of the garden.

Brunnera macrophylla, also known as Siberian bugloss, is a herbaceous perennial belonging to the Boraginaceae family, just like forget-me-nots and borage. It grows in forests in eastern Europe and northwestern Asia, on damp and humus-rich soils. It is grown for its delicate flowers that resemble forget-me-nots and its groundcover habit that forms a thick carpet of deciduous foliage, decorative from spring until early autumn.

The 'Looking Glass' variety is a magnificent introduction that stands out for its unique brilliance and clarity of foliage, almost without any trace of green. Its ornamental qualities and performance in the garden have earned it a Royal Horticultural Society award in England. In April-May, numerous small blue flowers appear in light panicles (in conical clusters) above a carpet of remarkably silver leaves.  If care is taken to remove this first bloom when it fades, there may be a second wave of flowers in autumn. This brunnera reaches a height of about 30 cm (12in) when in flower, and its foliage forms a generous mound of large heart-shaped leaves, slightly hairy, with a final length of 12 to 14 cm (5 to 6in). The clumps slowly spread through their rhizomatous roots. The Great forget-me-not self-seeds quite easily, but these new plants are not always true to the mother plant. The foliage may dry out in summer during abnormal drought, but will reappear with the return of rain. Only dead leaves remain on the ground during winter, protecting the stump from the cold.

Very hardy, to -20°C (1°F), the 'Looking Glass' Giant forget-me-not is a charming and robust groundcover, to be planted under deciduous trees and shrubs, along woodland edges, or even on the banks of a pond. Its foliage brightens up shaded areas and is very decorative in pots and shaded planters. It also makes a good border plant that works wonders in wild gardens or informal perennial beds; plant with dead nettles, blue hostas, purple heucheras, bleeding hearts, polychrome spurge, or columbines. It pairs well with spring-flowering bulbs, especially small-flowered daffodils, in semi-shade.