Vinca minor Multiplex

Vinca minor 'Multiplex', has spring flowering with small semi-double flowers in a plum colour, with a white halo in the centre. This very hardy perennial quickly forms a dense carpet of evergreen foliage, which is shiny and bright green, and it creeps between the roots of trees, in poor soil, in shade or even in the sun. It can be used as groundcover, in pots, in rockeries, and even in hanging baskets.

The small-flowered periwinkle is a creeping perennial with woody stems from the Apocynaceae family, native to central and southern Europe. It populates woods, hedges, rocks, and even dry and sunny meadows, and can sometimes be invasive.

The 'Multiplex' variety stands out for its semi-double flowering in a very unique purple to plum colour. This plant grows from a woody base, producing creeping or erect stems, forming a dense carpet of 20 cm (8in) in height and 1 m (3ft) or more in width. When in contact with the ground, the stems produce vigorous roots that allow the plant to continue its lateral growth. The stems bear small, opposite, elongated, ovate leaves with pointed tips, which are shiny and bright green. They produce unusual solitary terminal flowers throughout spring, composed of 6 to 7 petals forming a star-shaped cup, sometimes accompanied by a central and tubular collar of small petals. The centre of the flower is more or less marked with white.

Periwinkles are useful, sometimes invasive, groundcover. They will spread even in shady areas, although they may be slightly less floriferous. They eventually form thick interwoven mats, effectively covering the ground under trees or bushes, without fearing their roots, in rockeries or along pathways. 'Multiplex' may not be the most floriferous, but it will naturalise just as easily as other varieties in shade or partial shade, alongside Acanthus mollis, Dichondra repens, or Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis), in a slightly wild understory, even under an old lilac hedge. In full sun, it will accompany Cerastium tomentosum, Phyla nodiflora, Leptinella, Antennaria, Wild Thyme, and many other groundcovers...