Veronica gentianoides

Veronica gentianoides is a carefree creeping perennial plant with thick, round, dark green and shiny leaf rosettes which produce light spikes of small pale blue to mauve, simple flowers in spring. It will thrive in well-drained soil, in rock gardens or borders. This very hardy plant can tolerate occasional summer drought but needs water to flower well.

Veronica gentianoides, also known as the Caucasian Speedwell, is a perennial plant of the Scrophulariaceae family that naturally grows in wet habitats in the Caucasus, Turkey and Iran, in forests, meadows, and mountainous areas up to 3,600 m (12ft) above sea level.

It is a rhizomatous plant that forms spreading clumps up to 60 cm (24in) high, when flowering, and 30 cm (12in) wide. Its green and glossy, elliptical leaves are from 2 to 8 cm (1 to 3in) long, clustered in rosettes. It flowers in late spring or early summer (May-June), producing upright spikes that can reach 30 to 40 cm (12 to 16in) high, consisting of small, pale blue to mauve flowers 10 to 16 mm (0 to 1in) in diameter which are finely streaked with violet.

The Caucasian Speedwell likes the sun but will tolerate partial shade; it thrives in rocky soil in rock gardens, or gravel gardens. It also does well in moist and well-drained clay soil, near a water source for example, but it dislikes heavy waterlogged soils. A beautiful border can be created by combining it with Lamb's Ears (Stachys lanata), One-leaf Onion (Allium unifolium), Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans), or Silver Scrolls Coral Bells (Heuchera 'Silver Scrolls').