There is actually a “Polka Dot Plant”, but it’s not the mystery plant in my garden. Imagine that?
The Mystery Plant has been identified, which only proves that asking your blogging family for answers can be faster than going to Ask.com or Google Search!
I received three blogger answers, all with the same positive, unflinching confidence. In other words, they think they know what they are talking about.
Being a true skeptic, however, I went to Google Search and found this:
Lungwort – Pulmonaria Officinalis
YUK! What an ugly name for such a beautiful, flowering, polka dotted plant – Lungwort. And I discovered it was named after a lung disease! No wonder I forgot what it was – the plant I mean.
Anyway, it really does look like my Polka Dot Wonder (I refuse to give up this name) and its characteristics are the same too. Here is the description of Lungwort and some planting instructions.
Ah well –
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” ~William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
From Better Homes and Gardens
Gardening Dictionary
Lungwort
In early spring, the brilliant blue, pink, or white flowers of lungwort bloom despite the coldest chill. The rough basal leaves, spotted or plain, always please and continue to be handsome through the season and into winter. Planted close as a weed-discouraging groundcover, or in borders as edgings or bright accent plants, lungworts are workhorses and retain their good looks. Provide high-humus soil that retains moisture. Although lungwort tolerates dry conditions, be alert for mildew.
Light:
Sun,Part Sun,Shade
Zones:
2-8
Plant Type:
Perennial
Plant Height:
6-12 inches tall, depending on variety
Plant Width:
1.5-2 feet wide, depending on variety
Flower Color:
White, rose, blue violet flowers, depending on variety; variegated leaves, depending on variety
Bloom Time:
Blooms spring and summer, depending on variety
Landscape Uses:
Containers,Beds & Borders,Groundcover
Special Features:
Flowers,Attractive Foliage,Fragrant,Winter Interest,Drought Tolerant,Deer Resistant,Easy to Grow
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- lungwort (gardenflowerhistories.wordpress.com)
- a garden in the shade (amymayd.com)
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