Ever After is among the longest-blooming speedwells available. Its lavender-blue spikes reach nearly a foot long, and each spike stays in color for many weeks, covering the top two-thirds of the plant at peak.
The flowers drop cleanly as they fade, so the plant looks fresh through the season. It stays compact at 14 to 16 inches, a good season extender for the front to middle of a sunny border.
What it looks like
Long, slender, tapering flower spikes up to 12 inches long densely packed with tiny lavender-blue florets, covering the top two-thirds of the plant. Leaves are lance-shaped, finely toothed and dark green, set in pairs along the stems. The plant is a compact, rounded clump 14 to 16 inches tall and 16 to 20 inches wide. At peak it looks like a low green mound nearly hidden under long lavender-blue spires.
Growing it with lavender
Speedwell likes full sun like lavender but appreciates a little more moisture, so set it at the edge of a lavender bed where it gets occasional water; its slender spikes echo lavender's form and extend the season of spiky color.
Care
Plant in full sun to part shade in average, well-drained soil that does not stay dry for long. Hardy in zones 4-8; cut spent spikes back to the next set of side buds to keep new flowers coming, and divide crowded clumps every few years in spring.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Veronica
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Flower color: Lavender-blue
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Foliage: Dark green
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Growth habit: Compact, rounded clump
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Mature size: 14–16 in tall × 16–20 in wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
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Light: full sun, part sun to part shade
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Bloom start: Mid-June
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Peak bloom: Mid-July
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Bloom pattern: Long Blooming
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Deer resistance: Resistant
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Pollinator value: Excellent
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.