A busy bumble bee selected the topic of my blog this week.  I caught sight of it, collecting from the deep pink-red flower spikes of Red Fox Veronica. It wasn’t until I opened the pictures on my computer that I saw how delicate and perfect each little veronica blossom is.  Hundreds of these small flowers work together to make a big statement.  It’s easy to see how this showy plant beckoned the bumble bee.  Bright green foliage and sturdy stalks give veronica its well-known standing in our sunny Minnesota perennial beds and borders. Its long lasting blooms are perfect for cutting, and will re-bloom if deadheaded. Veronica is great in mass plantings, orderly rows, and as a specimen near the front of the perennial border. Most varieties produce a dense rounded plant around 12-16” tall and wide.

Veronica prefer full sun and moist, well drained soil. They are attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies, and are resistant to browse by deer and rabbits, and tolerant of Black Walnuts. Newer varieties such as Veronica ‘Pink Potion’, ‘Purple Explosion’ and ‘Very Van Gogh’ are creating new buzz in the world of veronica.  They’re expanding veronica’s color palette and producing showier flowers.  Making veronica a true honey of a plant!