Forget-me-not

(Myosotis sylvatica)

In spring, this annual bears a profusion of delicate blue flowers, each with a small white or yellow eye in the centre. And once you have forget-me-nots in your garden, you’ll have them forever as they self-seed readily and germinate easily. If too many plants come up, remove the excess – otherwise they’ll take over your flowerbeds. Forget-me-nots do well almost everywhere and require little attention.

The indigenous Cape forget-me-not (Anchusa capensis) is a slightly bigger plant with bright blue flowers. It grows in most soil types and self-seeds just as easily. Cape forget-me-nots bloom from spring to summer. Both make good cut flowers.

Although both of these plants have similar common names, they belong to two different genera.