Vinca minor Gertrude Jekyll

Vinca minor Gertrude Jekyll is an exceptionally dense and spreading shrub, forming a low carpet woven with dark green evergreen leaves. In early spring, a multitude of surprisingly bright small white stars bloom. It is a faithful perennial, hardy and fast-growing, which makes a good ground cover in partial shade or in the shade of trees, where it is not afraid of the roots.

This small-flowered periwinkle is a creeping perennial with woody stems from the Apocynaceae family, native to central and southern Europe. It populates woods, hedges, rockeries, and even dry and sunny meadows, and can sometimes become invasive. 'Gertrude Jekyll' stands out for its very low and dense habit and the diaphanous shade of its beautiful star-shaped flowers. This plant develops from a woody climbing stem, producing creeping or erect stems, forming a dense carpet 10 cm (4 in) tall and 30 cm (12 in) or more in width. In contact with the ground, the stems emit vigorous roots that allow this plant to continue its lateral growth. The stems bear opposite, ovate, dark green, shiny leaves, and produce solitary terminal flowers from March to May, composed of 5 square, asymmetrical petals.

Periwinkles are useful, sometimes invasive ground covers. They will spread even in shaded areas, although they may be slightly less floriferous. They eventually form thick interwoven mats, effectively covering the ground under trees or bushes, the roots of which they are not afraid of, in rockeries or along pathways. They naturalise easily, alongside Acanthus mollis, Dichondra repens, or Ivy-leaved toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis), in a slightly wild undergrowth. The 'Gloire de Marengo' ivy, with its fabulous grey-green leaves variegated with cream, will form a beautiful combination along with Vinca minor 'Atropurpurea' in regions where the winter is not too harsh.