Picture taken 7-15-09.
FAMILY: Scrophulariaceae (skrof-yoo-larr-ee-AY-see-ee)
GENUS: Veronica
SPECIES: spicata
CULTIVAR: ‘Sunny Border Blue’
COMMON NAME: SPEEDWELL
Veronica’s are one of my favorite perennials, especially the blue shades. I am not much of a pink person, so you won’t see many pink flowers in my beds (Mexican Heather is pink). There are several. Besides being available in shades of blue and pink, there are also white ones. There are also species of Veronica that do not have the flower spikes like the spicata.
The ‘Sunny Border Blue’ cultivar has intense blue blower spikes and grows to around 18-24 inches tall. They are fairly drought tolerant, but prefer to be watered when dry. They also like a well drained location in full sun. They are cold hardy from zone 3b-8b (-35 to 15 degrees F). I am not sure about their heat tolerance, however. They did OK in the flower bed, but they prefer full sun and where I had them they were in LOTS of shade. SO, I need to do something about that.
Now, there is a story about the Veronica WHICH I WILL BE ADDING LATER. If you can’t wait, go the Bible and turn to Matthew 9:20-22. I think Veronica was the woman with the issue of blood (for 12 years) that touched the hem of Jesus garment. Now, this story, and if you do your research, not only in the Bible, but of the people of the Bible, you will see that Veronica could have also became the wife (after Matthew 9:20) of Zacchaeus, the tax collector. BUT, she was his wife when Jesus stayed at their home. It is also mentioned that she was the only one that had an actual portrait of Jesus. She later took the portrait to Tiberius, the Emperor of Rome and had him gaze at the painting and was cured of his illness. Veronica was the woman that wiped the sweat of Jesus forehead when he was marching to Calvary. In front of Veronica’s home were two statues, one of her and one of Jesus. A mystical healing herb grew in front of her statue…
I had read some of that information before, but didn’t remember where. While visiting the site of Paghat’s Garden, she had written a whole story about it. Paghat’s Garden’s website is AWESOME and you need to go there!
You can bet I will be purchasing more Veronica!
Later, there will be a page on Veronica and sub-pages for the different cultivars I add to the garden.
