FORGET-ME-NOT FLOWERS

The vivid-blue, starry-eyed, forget-me-not f lowers of many members of the Boraginaceae family makes them unforgettable and there are plenty of options for adding their appeal to your garden

Perhaps the most familiar members of the Boraginaceae family, are the blue borage ( Borago officinalis) flowers sometimes found floating in a glass at a summer drinks party, but this plant family contributes so much more through the beauty of the plants it offers to the gardener. Boraginaceae is a huge plant family, divided into five subfamilies that are distinguished by their flower structure, including Boraginoideae, into which the starry, five-petalled flowers belong. Many, though not all, are known by the common name of forget-me-not, although they all have forget-me-not like flowers. Myosotis, which takes its name from the classical Greek word for mouse ear (after its leaf shape), is the genus we most closely associate with the name forget-me-not. Myosotis scorpioides thrives by water, while M. sylvatica adds billowing daintiness to the woodland and its cultivars to containers and spring planting schemes. Also part of the Boraginoideae clan are the Brunnera, Lithodora, Omphalodes and Pulmonaria species and cultivars, as well as Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens’ with its nodding purple, honey-scented flowers and purple bracts, Heliotropium arborescens with its delicious cherry-pie fragrance and Myosotidium hortensia, the Chatham Island forget-me-not, with thick, glossy leaves and intense blue flowers. Alpine enthusiasts will be familiar with Eritrichium nanum, the fairy forget-me-not, a tiny plant, described by Reginald Farrer in his book The English Rock Garden as ‘the Herald of Heaven, crowned King of the Alps’.

For these plants placing is everything. Myosotis sylvatica and its cultivars rapidly succumb to powdery mildew if heat and drought combine towards the end of spring but are not alone in disliking drought. Omphalodes prefer moist, humusrich soil, in cool, dappled shade, and are ideal for planting under deciduous shrubs or naturalising in woodland, where they combine well with Digitalis purpurea, D. purpurea f. albiflora, ferns, such as Athyrium niponicum var. pictum and Deschampsia cespitosa ‘Goldtau’, and woodland grasses. They can take a while to settle and dislike being moved. In Cottage Garden Flowers, Margery Fish wrote that Omphalodes cappadocica ‘makes a good clump of very elegant, smooth, pointed leaves, above which we have those dainty sprays of very blue flowers. Why is it, I wonder, that blue flowers give such a feeling of innocence and simplicity?’

Although Brunnera have made their name as groundcover, tolerant of dry shade, they perform best in moderately fertile, moist, humus-rich soil. ‘Jack Frost’ with its distinctive leaf markings has become justifiably famous (some argue it should be grown for its foliage alone) and ‘Starry Eyes’, found in 2005 as a chance seedling between ‘Betty Bowring’ and ‘Henry’s Eyes’ in the collection of Belgian plant breeder Chris Ghyselen, is an attractive departure from the traditional blue. Both are perfect for edging paths, or in containers in courtyard gardens.

Symphytum ‘Hidcote Pink’, which is both practical and pretty, needs the space of the wild garden, where its tendency to wander can be controlled by adding the leaves to compost heaps or for making the liquid fertiliser comfrey tea. In the rock garden or on a hot sunny bank, Lithodora diffusa, comes to the fore. This native of western France, the Pyrenees and northwest Spain, is found on acidic soils, often in association with Daboecia cantabrica. Winter wet will kill the plant and it should be trimmed after flowering in mid spring and early summer, to keep it tidy. It’s not fully hardy and in colder gardens should be grown in an alpine house.

Among all of these enticing choices, one of my favourites is Anchusa azurea ‘Loddon Royalist’ whose deep-blue flowers make it desirable for use in herbaceous borders and wildlife gardens. Plants are short lived and should be propagated every three years and dislike shade, waterlogging and root disturbance. Deadheading encourages a second flush of flowers and removing the flower stems after they have finished ensures all the energy goes into forming basal leaf rosettes.

When it comes to selecting plants for your garden, the forget-me-not in its many forms – and its associated starry-eyed friends – should not be forgotten. n

• Author Matthew Biggs is a garden writer and broadcaster. His recommendations for the best forget-me-not flowers can be found over the next five pages.

Omphalodes linifolia A pretty annual, found in dry, open habitats in southwest Europe and northwest Africa, often on highly alkaline soil. Produces long racemes of fragrant, white, forget-me-not flowers in summer. Ideal in a sunny, raised position and easy from seed. 50cm. AGM. RHS H3.

Lithodora diffusa ‘Heavenly Blue’ A selection introduced by Perry Nursery of Enfield, which was given plants by EA Bowles. Much paler than the straight species, which has dark-blue flowers streaked with red. Flowers in mid to late summer. 15cm. AGM. RHS H5, USDA 6a-8b. Anchusa azurea ‘Loddon Royalist’ A robust, roughly bristled herbaceous perennial, with large, loose panicles of gentian-blue flowers from early to late summer. May need staking. Introduced in 1957, it remains the most popular and widely available cultivar. 1m. AGM. RHS H5, USDA 3a-8b. Omphalodes cappadocica ‘Cherry Ingram’ A vigorous form with larger, deep forget-me-not blue flowers than others and narrow, dark-green leaves. Invaluable in shade. Named for Collingwood Ingram, the plant collector and saviour of the great white Japanese cherry. 50cm. AGM. RHS H5, USDA 6a-9b. Lithodora diffusa ‘Grace Ward’ A low, mat-forming evergreen shrub with narrow, dark-green leaves the perfect foil for its azureblue flowers, which appear in late spring and early summer and are more luminous than ‘Heavenly Blue’. 50cm. AGM. RHS H5, USDA 6a-8b.

Myosotidium hortensia Known as the Chatham Island, or sometimes giant, forget-me-not, it is now endangered in its native habitat on the New Zealand islands. However, its striking, ridged, thick glossy leaves and clusters of lavender-blue flowers mark it as a choice garden plant. 60cm. RHS H4. Myosotis sylvatica ‘Rosylva’ Billowing mounds of rose-coloured blooms, held on stiff, wiry stems, almost obscure the freshgreen leaves. Like other members of the Sylva Series, it self-seeds freely and is beneficial for pollinators. 30cm. AGM. RHS H6, USDA 3a-8b.