Quick Guide: spring, hardy, semi-shade, height: 15cm/6in, width: 25cm/10in

Ornphalodes verna (above), like lithodora, belongs to the forget-me-not family. Fortunately it has a common name - blueeyed mary-which is less of a tongue-twister than the Latin one. Suitable for the rock garden or the front of a border, this early flowering perennial species forms tufts of long-stalked mid green leaves with open sprays of bright blue flowers. The plant spreads by means of runner,:. Its slightly larger relative, O. cappadocica is a clump-forming species that carries dense sprays of sky-blue flowers in early summer.

GROWING Plant in spring in peaty soil. Water generously in hot weather and dead-head regularly to prolong flowering.

PROPAGATION Divide and replant in spring or in summer when flowering is over.

VARIETIES The species are reliable. There is a white-flowered variety of U. verna named 'Alba'.

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS Generally trouble-free.