Virginia Bluebells

Mertensia virginica

Virginia Bluebells is spring's finest show. The clusters of sky-blue tubular flowers. pink in bud, turning true clear blue as they open. hang in nodding sprays over smooth blue-green foliage. Walk into a woodland where they've naturalized in April and you'll understand why people drive hours to see them. They bloom for three weeks, draw long-tongued bees and hummingbirds intensively, and then disappear completely underground by midsummer, leaving not a trace. That disappearing act is their one quirk. plant summer companions like ferns, hostas, or wild ginger that will fill in the gap when the bluebells go dormant. In the right moist, shaded spot they naturalize freely and return more impressive every year. This is the plant that makes visitors ask what you've done with your shade garden.