I love my hostas — large-leafed with many varieties of color (mostly green) combinations. Tall stems covered in tiny flowers; it’s a great ground cover. The only problem with hostas is the deer love them too. To say they eat them is an understatement.
他们吞吃他们!就在植物准备长出花茎的时候。我得把握好时机,但如果我用猎鹿网盖住hostas,我就能消除它的严重断头。即使这样也只能提供最低限度的保护,而且还会破坏植物本身的环境。
This sad situation had me looking for a deer-resistant alternative. One that would spread out with similar, variegated broad leaves. I think I may have found it. And it has a name that is a big as the plant promises to be: Alexander’s Great Siberian bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla). The name, bugloss, comes from the Greek word which means ox tongue — probably due to the shape and roughness of the leaves.
Like hostas, it’s a great partial shade plant, but it’s both deer resistant and (bonus) rabbit resistant. However, as I quickly discovered with my first planting of bugloss, the plant is not immune to squirrels and chipmunks. The rhizomes attract small animals. They dug them up and devoured them with relish.
Solution? I’ve learned a few things that work for my many bulbs: plastic forks (prongs upward) around the planting and a thick layer of eggshells over the surface. Both detract annoying pests as they don’t appreciate poking their delicate paws.
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So, my second planting of bugloss has produced the promised large, heart-shaped, dark green leaves, and the tiny blue flowers that look a lot like forget-me-nots (another one of my favorite spring flowers) that balance themselves on slender, 18-inch stems. The flowers appeared in the spring, but the leaves provided an attractive ground cover all through the summer.
Even with our long dry summer months, the bugloss continued to show off its leafy beauty well into the fall. After enjoying my first spring with bugloss flowers, I was intrigued to discover this plant was also known as false forget-me-nots.
Bugloss Growing Conditions
A good shade plant, bugloss also does well in partly sunny areas, but too much sun will wilt and burn the leaves. It tolerates drought and just about any type of soil, but it prefers a consistently moist, organically rich soil.
这种植物会通过蔓生根茎的扩散繁殖。它会在生长条件最好的时候(换句话说,在凉爽潮湿的夏天)自我播种,所以要准备好迎接一大片的蒲草。而且,令人惊讶的是,鉴于它是如此大的植物,它在容器中表现很好。
As for its uses? It is an herbaceous perennial and as such, one might expect some medicinal or culinary uses for this plant. Some of the bugloss varieties do have their medicinal and culinary uses. For example, the viper’s bugloss,Echium vulgare, is apparently a good preventative and remedyfor viper and other snake bites.
Viper’s bugloss, related toBorago officinalis类似地,它也被用于催汗和利尿的作用,但最近,它还不被认为是一种可行的来源,因为它有可能有毒。事实上,这种蒲草有很多药用价值。而叶子,在年轻的时候,可以生吃或煮熟,很像菠菜。
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However, my bugloss, Alexander’s Great Siberian bugloss, is purely ornamental. There are no known medicinal or culinary uses for any part of this plant. It is ground cover, and an attractive addition to a large, shady garden space. A wonderful showpiece, my bugloss is deer, rabbit, and pest resistant (other than freshly planted rhizomes which may attract squirrels and chipmunks). And, it self-seeds and multiplies through its rhizomes. Bugloss makes a smashing display in a shady spot of the garden.
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