SPOTLIGHT ON A TINY BLUE FLOWER

I have been keeping my eye on the blue gilia, Gilia rigidula, for days. The flower buds were there and it was just a matter of catching the first flower to open. I was so busy in the garden today that I forgot to look.

Then, as I was taking my shower, I glanced through the window at the bare ground above the rock wall and my eye was drawn to a patch of blue. All the flowers had opened at the same time.

Blue gilia is a member of the phlox family. It loves the chalky soils of the Edward's plateau and thrives above the dry stone wall outside the gate. Over the last few years it has multiplied to form quite a little patch.

I had no thought to plant it in the sunken garden until this year. I think it would make a welcome spring addition. It seems to transplant quite easily and it is to be hoped that it will set seed and form a large clump, its flowers to be enjoyed both in the spring and fall.