Veronica 'Georgia Blue'

Veronica 'Georgia Blue': Early Spring Rolls Out the Blue Carpet

'Georgia Blue' spreads a carpet of deep blue flowers with tiny white eyes, like the ground is staring right back at you. Then cold weather turns the leaves bronze and burgundy. WHO'S WATCHING WHO?

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Veronica umbrosa 'Georgia Blue' (often sold as Veronica peduncularis)
• Common Name: Creeping Speedwell
• Height: 10–15 cm (4–6 in)
• Spread: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Flowers: Deep blue with a white eye, about 1 cm (½ in) across
• Bloom Time: Spring (April to May), sometimes with a light repeat later in the season
• Foliage: Small, glossy, toothed green leaves on trailing stems, turning bronze to burgundy in cold weather
• Features: Holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit

Where to Plant: Use it where you want a low mat of early colour: the front edge of a border, a rock garden, the top of a retaining wall, or the gaps between flagstones, where it handles light foot traffic. Later in the year it makes a neat, low edge along the front of a bed.

Companion Plants: Galium odoratum adds a low carpet with white flowers at 10 to 25 cm in May and June, right after the blue speedwell flowers. Euphorbia 'Bonfire' forms a 30 to 45 cm cushion with yellow flowers in May and June, a cheerful contrast with the blue. Iris 'Black Joker' rises to 48 to 50 cm with purple flowers in May and June. These suit partial sun, and the speedwell and iris also take full sun.

Plant Care: Plant in average, well-drained soil in full sun or light shade. It handles clay as long as water doesn't sit around it over winter. Water it during long dry spells in summer, especially in its first year. Shear it back lightly right after the main flush of flowers to keep the mat tight and tidy. It rarely needs more than that. To share it or slow it down, dig and divide sections in early spring or early fall.

History: British plantsman Roy Lancaster found this plant in 1979 while travelling in the Republic of Georgia, in the Caucasus. A specimen sent to Kew was misidentified, so it's still widely sold as Veronica peduncularis, though the Royal Horticultural Society lists it as Veronica umbrosa 'Georgia Blue' and gives it the Award of Garden Merit.

Final Thoughts: Low maintenance, deer resistant and loved by early pollinators. Let it trail over a wall. BLUE NEVER LOOKED THIS CHEERFUL.