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Bugle Blast
As I write this, I am looking out of the back doors of the garden centre, on a wet and chilly November morning, across plant tables draped with rain-sodden horticultural fleece; a veritable wet blanket if ever I saw one. The sky is leaden, but I didn’t expect to see a flurry of snow today. Yet on the wooden stands sheltered by the canopy above the doorway are pots of winter colour. The colour co-ordinated plant mixtures in the ‘Garden Cocktails’ containers include compact cyclamens and cheerful chrysanthemums, but it is the vibrant foliage of a plant known as bugle (Ajuga reptans) that catches my attention. Its puckered leaves resemble the texture of a seersucker napkin. In one container the leaves are variegated, with splashes of ivory white, sage green, and wine-red, this is the cultivar ‘Burgundy Glow’. In another planter the leaves are large and dark purple, possibly the variety ‘Black Scallop’.
Ajuga reptans is a member of the mint family. It is native to Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia. In the UK, bugle is often found growing in damp forest floors, where it forms carpets of small blue flowers from spring into late summer. Like other members of the mint family, Ajuga is tough with a vigorous growth habit, quickly forming a dense mat. Indeed, the specific name ‘reptans’ comes from a Latin word meaning ‘creeping’, describing how it spreads across the ground by sending out horizontal stems (stolons) that take root at certain points along their length to form new plants. This spreading habit means that in the garden it makes a superb ground cover plant, supressing weeds. Versatile bugle is also valuable in pots and window boxes, acting as a ‘filler’ between more showy plants. Specimens grown in containers are ideal for close admiration of their tiny, intricate flowers, which are easily overlooked. I believe that every keen gardener should possess a hand lens for peering at small flowers. And what a beautiful little flower it is! The photograph illustrating this article was taken earlier in the week. I’m not sure if the fascinating flowers are something left from autumn or a harbinger of spring, reassuring us that lighter days will return.
I have adored this very ordinary plant ever since childhood. Which you will know if you have read my last blog article (scroll down for the link). There are at least thirty named cultivars of Ajuga reptans available, probably more, with further being added as plant breeders develop new varieties. Many bugle cultivars are selected for their colourful foliage, such as those mentioned at the start. Compact new ‘Feathered Friends® Series’ Ajuga hybrids developed by the American plant breeder Chris Hansen are particularly interesting, with a variety of dramatic foliage colours, including gold, chocolate brown, amber, bronze, and coppery tones. These new hybrids are also bred for flower power, all producing an abundance of blooms.
Thus, there is more to bugle than just lovely leaves. In spring, the centre of each leafy rosette elongates into an inflorescence consisting of a raceme made up of whorls of tiny flowers. The flowers of wild bugle are usually purplish-blue, although I have seen naturally occurring white-flowered forms in the wild on the Isle of Wight. Garden cultivars are available with pink flowers, for example, Ajuga reptans ‘Rosea’ which as its name suggests is a rose-coloured form. If you aren’t a pink person, then white-flowered ‘Alba’ might entice you. If you like a strong plant with pale-blue flowers, then the popular cultivar ‘Catlin’s Giant’ could fit the bill. The blue flowers of this larger form contrast spectacularly against its burnished bronze foliage.
The small flowers of bugle are popular with bees and butterflies. Bugle is a primary nectar source for adult pearl-bordered fritillary butterflies, one of the earliest fritillaries to emerge in spring, and the small pearl-bordered fritillary. It is a secondary nectar source of the common brimstone and many other butterflies.
So, if you have a problem shady area in your garden with poor soil that always looks a bit bare then bugle could be the plant you are looking for. Ideally, plant in autumn or spring. Given room to run, bugle provides reliable ground cover with the bonus of masses of small pagodas of flowers in the spring and early summer, which can be trimmed away after they have finished, leaving a carpet of glossy leaves to enjoy. With so many attractive cultivars to choose from, your only problem will be deciding which one to pick.
Further reading:
Some of my early gardening memories:
