Veronica beccabunga

The aquatic Veronica beccabunga is a beautiful aquatic or riverside veronica, native to Europe, with hundreds of small blue-violet flowers with yellow hearts from May to September. It spreads to form a carpet through its long, thick, purple stems, carrying round, bright green leaves. It is ideal for the banks of a medium to large-sized pond, in sunny or semi-shaded areas.

Brooklime, also known as watercress, belongs to the Plantaginaceae family (it was formerly classified among the Scrophulariaceae). The Veronica genus is rich in ornamental species with extremely diverse habits and ecological requirements, but their flowers are almost identical in shape for all species, making identification easy. There are less aquatic or wetland veronicas than others and Veronica beccabunga is one of them, growing spontaneously in wet ditches, flooded areas, and on pond banks, from Western Europe to Northern Asia.

It forms a creeping mat that spreads rapidly through long stems. They are almost succulent and beautiful purplish-red, contrasting with the bright green, shiny elliptical leaves, which are semi-evergreen. Between May and September, its numerous clusters of small, typical, blue-violet "butterfly" flowers with yellow hearts, are loved by bees and other pollinators.

Veronica beccabunga needs a position which is not too shaded to flower well, and rich, consistent, ordinary, moist to wet soil to develop properly. Under good conditions, the plant, which only measures 20 cm (8in) in height, can easily cover 1 m². Make sure you leave enough space for it, a minimum of 8 to 10 m². You can remove some branches in the spring when growth resumes.

Plant it with other aquatic and riverside plants like Marsh Marigold, Pickerel Weed, Purple Loosestrife, Siberian Iris, or Variegated Sweet Flag and the impressive Royal Fern.