Veronica ‘Sunny Border Blue’
Without a doubt, Veronica longifolia ‘Sunny Border Blue” is the first plant I would put into a new garden. This blue-flowering, tall, gorgeous, reliable bloomer is a garden staple, and it is so loved by the bees and butterflies that I cannot imagine my garden without it.
Introduced in 1946 by Sunny Border Nurseries, and selected as the Perennial Plant Association’s Plant of the Year in 1993, ‘Sunny Border Blue’ has been performing reliably in my backyard for almost two decades. I originally planted it along my sidewalk near the house, adjacent to a Morden Blush shrub rose, in a sunny spot not far from the bright, white reflections of a south-facing stucco wall. Since then, dividing and moving this plant around every few years, it has become a featured plant throughout the garden, with plantings alongside my garage, in several locations in my main back garden, and along the shadier eastern property edge.
‘Sunny Border Blue’ has shown itself to be an early and steady bloomer regardless of where I put it, how much light it has, what the soil is like, and who its neighbours are. It has, in fact, over the years grown to become almost rampant in my main garden. Yet, that’s an easy situation to rectify when the time is right, providing lots of plant divisions to give away to gardening friends.
What is particularly endearing about this popular Speedwell, besides the gorgeous blue colour of its flowers, is that it is not only a prolific bloomer the first time around in early summer; but once trimmed back, it re-blooms almost as heartily again a few weeks later, giving a second handsome display of colour. It’s uplifting to see drops of blue in the grey landscape of fall.
Importantly, Veronica provides a much sought after source of nectar in both the summer and fall months, and is especially valuable to the bee population in late summer as other plants begin their decline. You will see many photographs of bees on the flowers in the Photo Gallery, and there are a few among the photo selections of a black swallowtail. It is in fact difficult to photograph this plant without capturing shots of insects enjoying its nectar.
V.longifolia is the long-long leaf species of Veronica, growing from 60 to 120 centimetres in height (two to four feet). Putting a circular support frame around the plants for support at about the 30 cm (one-foot) level helps to keep the longer stems from leaning away from the centre as the flowers mature and add extra weight. The blue flower spikes of ‘Sunny Border Blue’ range in length from 15 to 20 centimetres (six to eight inches), putting a strain on the some of the more slender stems.
V.spicata, Spike Speedwell, is shorter in height than longifolia, and has slightly shorter leaves. The deep rose hue of ‘Red Fox” is very attractive. You will see a few images of ‘Red fox” in the photo gallery. ‘Red Fox’ grows in my small island garden, near the bird feeder, alongside delphiniums and lilies.
Photo location: NK Garden
Photographs and Text: Nadine Kampen
Copyright: NKampen/CookieBuxton
Photo Gallery
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