Veronica Sunny Border Blue

Veronica 'Sunny Border Blue' is a very popular hybrid Veronica variety, introduced in 1946. This vigorous deciduous to semi-evergreen perennial offers upright, compact and dense spikes of small blue-violet flowers in summer. It forms spreading clumps with greyish and villous foliage, which spreads thanks to a strong creeping stump. It thrives in sunny beds with well-drained limestone soil. Its flowers are perfect for bouquets.

The Veronica 'Sunny Border Blue', also known as Veronica spicata 'Sunny Border Blue', from the Plantaginaceae family, formerly classified in the Scrophulariaceae family, is a variety derived from Veronica spicata or spike speedwell. This perennial plant mainly grows in the mountains, up to 2000 meters (6500 feet) altitude. It can also be found in meadows, dry grasslands, rocky slopes, at the edge of forests, most of the time on limestone soil.

The Sunny Border Blue form shows dense and vigorous vegetation, 30 to 45cm (12 to 18in) tall for the foliage, 50cm (20in) tall when flowering, spreading over a diameter of 50cm (20in) from its powerful semi-woody stump. Its villous stems are branched in the upper part and bear deciduous to semi-evergreen ovate to linear leaves, with finely dentate edges, in a beautiful dark green colour. In summer, from June to August and sometimes until September, it produces tiny star-shaped blue-violet flowers, green at the top of each spike, tightly packed on dense and upright flower spikes. This flowering is nectar-rich. The plant self-seeds spontaneously in light soil.

This Sunny Border Blue spike speedwell can be planted in any well-drained soil, even rocky and limestone, preferably in full sun. It is particularly suitable for a mountain garden with rocky soil. While it prefers some moisture at its base, once well established, it tolerates drought fairly well. This perennial will be very useful for dressing the base of shrub roses or in an elevated bed, on a slope, in a rockery, combined with echinaceas, stipas, red shrubby salvias, Californian poppies or lavender. Its blue spikes add height and colour to a low-growing mass composed of very spreading plants such as aubrietas, wall bellflowers or cerastiums. The spiked speedwell can also be showcased as a standalone plant. Its flowers are also very beautiful in summer bouquets.