This pretty little groundcover is one of the first things I see in the mornings upon leaving the house, since it carpets the flower bed just next to our front steps. At first, I mistook them for forget-me-nots, but closer inspection showed plenty of differences.

Turns out, they are Omphalodes verna (kevätkaihonkukka), also known as blue-eyed Mary. This patch predates our arrival at the house and comes back reliably in early spring. The bright blue flowers are only about the size of a fingernail each, but they are produced profusely just when some color is needed. Looking back through my albums, I’ve stopped and snapped a picture of them almost every year because it’s always exciting to see flowers again after a long dark winter. Along with the tulips and dicentra, they make the front of the house look very cheerful all spring.

As small plants go, they’re easy to forget once the bustle of the planting season starts. That’s unfair to them, though, because they are a reliable and useful perennial even when not in flower. The light green leaves make a great living mulch to keep the bed moist for the other woodland plants living there. It fills out fast and covers the ground before much else can, making the need for weeding very minimal in that bed.

Final count:

• Omphalodes verna – one well-established large patch