One of the best herbs for bees, this hardy biennial with tall spikes of blue flowers was used to treat melancholy and troubles of the heart. 9x9cm pot (8cm depth)
Description
- One of the best bee herbs
- Good for wildflower gardens
- Attractive flowers
- Good butterfly herb
This British native is a hairy plant and the name Bugloss comes from the Greek meaning ‘ox tongue’ due to the roughness of the leaves. It has tall dense spikes of blue flowers that are an important source of food for a range of insects. No longer used medicinally.
Plant care
- Height: 60-100cm
- Type: Hardy
- Aspect: Sun
- Soil: Well drained
- Flower colour: Blue
- Flowering period: June-July
A biennial, viper’s bugloss just grows leaves in the first and then throws up masses of blue flowering stems the following summer. It likes a well-drained site in full sun and it is a herb better grown in the ground where it can really be appreciated. It does self-seed but not profusely, the seeds when ripe can also be collected for sowing outside in autumn.
Usage
With its abundant nectar, viper’s bugloss is one of the top most attractive herbs for bees attracting different types of bumblebee’s particularly rarer ones if they are available, solitary bees, leaf cutter bees, honey bees, common carder bees.
A decoction of the seeds in wine was thought t drive away melancholy.