Vinca minor Atropurpurea

The Vinca minor 'Atropurpurea' is an interesting bush for the deep purple colour of its solitary star-shaped flowers, which stand out well against a very dense carpet of shiny dark green evergreen leaves. This reliable and hardy perennial blooms in spring, quickly spreading on the ground, in semi-shade or shade under trees, even in dry soil in summer.

The creeping periwinkle is a woody-stemmed climbing perennial of the Apocynaceae family, native to central and southern Europe. Common in France, it inhabits woods, hedges, and rocks, or even dry and sunny meadows, and can sometimes become invasive. 'Atropurpurea' is distinguished by the purple to violet hue of its beautiful star-shaped flowers. This plant develops from a creeping base, producing creeping or erect stems, forming a dense carpet 20 cm (8in) high and 3 m (10ft) or more wide. In contact with the ground, the stems produce vigorous roots that allow this plant to continue its lateral growth. The stems bear opposite, ovate, shiny dark green leaves, and produce solitary terminal flowers from March to May, composed of 5 square, asymmetrical petals.

Periwinkles are useful, sometimes invasive, ground covers. They will spread even in shaded areas, although they may be slightly less floriferous. They eventually form thick interwoven mats, effectively covering the ground under trees or bushes, which they are not afraid of the roots of, in rockeries or along paths. They will easily naturalise, alongside Acanthus mollis, Dichondra repens, or Ivy-leaved toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis), in a slightly wild understory. The 'Gloire de Marengo' ivy, with its fabulous cream-variegated grey-green leaves, will make a beautiful combination with the 'Atropurpurea' Vinca minor, in regions where the winter is not too harsh.