Veronica Nestor

Have you discovered Harebell Speedwell yet? It's a trailing type, with good dense foliage in case you want to use it as a groundcover, plus abundant and very beautiful blooms in case you want to show it off in containers or spilling over garden walls. 'Nestor' is the best variety from this species, offering more and larger blooms over a long spring-into-summer season.

One of the first perennials to flower each year, 'Nestor' begins its season in mid-spring in most climates. It sets masses of 1/2-inch sky blue blooms in long, elegant 6-inch wands that stand straight up from the foliage. A lovely and hard-to-find color for the garden, it makes the perfect carpet for spring-blooming bulbs, but outlasts them easily, extending through early summer and, if sheared back promptly after flowering, often reblooming lightly all the way into fall.

Just 6 to 8 inches high when in flower, 'Nestor' spreads 18 inches wide in no time, and will naturalize if it finds the conditions agreeable. Never invasive, it is a meanderer, which makes it ideal for rock gardens and the sunny border. It also tolerates salt spray and somewhat sandy soil effortlessly, making it quite popular in coastal gardens.

Given a choice, this plant would prefer slightly dry soil to slightly wet, and it does need good drainage to thrive. In these conditions, plus full sun in all but very warm climates, it flourishes, blooming for the first time after winterizing. (So whether you sow the seeds in spring or fall, it will flower the following spring.) Find an elegant container, a bare spot in the sunny border, or an elevated garden feature that needs some over-the-top beauty, and make 'Nestor' a permanent resident of your garden! Hardy in zones 4-8. Pkt is 50 seeds.