Brunnera macrophylla ‘Looking Glass’

Description

Brunnera macrophylla Looking Glass, also sold as Silver All Over, is a rhizomatous, clump-forming herbaceous perennial. Its domed foliage mound reaches about 30–45 cm high and 30–70 cm wide, while slender flowering stems can rise to around 60 cm. Large, coarsely hairy, heart- to kidney-shaped basal leaves emerge with some green veining, then mature to an almost continuous matte-silver surface marked only by narrow green major veins and a slim green margin. This restrained pattern distinguishes it from the broader green veining of Jack Frost.

Airy paniculate cymes carry numerous tiny, five-lobed, light-blue flowers with white throats in April and May, occasionally continuing into June in mild conditions. Grow in full or dappled shade in cool, organically rich, moist but well-drained soil. Full sun is suitable only where the root zone stays moist and mulched and the plant is protected from the hottest afternoon sun. Dry soil and hot exposure can scorch the foliage.

Use as a luminous groundcover or textural group in shade borders, woodland gardens, underplanting, containers and pollinator planting. Root sections or spring division preserve the cultivar; seedlings may lose the silver pattern. Slugs and snails can damage young leaves, but the cultivar is otherwise generally disease-free. Leave aging autumn foliage over the crown and remove it in spring.