I was searching for this little perennial the other day when out plant buying as it’s so useful for the edge of a border. Its stems and young foliage are tinted reddish bronze and the flowers are an intense blue. An unusual and distinctive combination.

The flowers appear in April and will continue for weeks, even intermittently into autumn. The foliage is evergreen and spreads out to form a mat about 20cm high with a spread of 40cm. Sun or part shade required and free draining soil.

This plant was introduced by Roy Lancaster who found it growing in a snow-covered forest margin in the Western Caucasus in Georgia several years ago. Apparently a single rooted fragment was enough to get it established in his garden and it certainly is an obliging plant in every way.