Anchusa
Italian Bugloss
“Of deep glorious color” are the words Graham Stuart Thomas, legendary author and horticulturist, uttered to describe the deep blue tint, vividly imbuing large, edible forget-me-not like blooms, and deeming ‘Loddon Royalist’ the bluest of them all! Selected more than 50 years ago at Britain’s Loddon Nursery, this garden-worthy Borage family member and Mediterranean denizen sprouts a stubble-surfaced dark green basal rosette below infamous white-ringed dimple-centered blossoms, which perch on lax stems and make a tasty culinary garnish. Verbascum ‘Sixteen Candles’ and Geum ‘Prinses Juliana’ are glowing companions for the ever-blue floral wonders, while light sandy or sharp-draining soil plus a shearing right after the flowers have faded will ensure its long-lived vigor.
Blooms May–June
Size: 2-1/2' – 3' 0" high x 12" – 18" wide.
Zone 3/4.