Lungwort

The colour change from pink to blue is not a whim but chemistry: with pollination the cell-sap pH shifts and the pigment flips. That is how the plant signals to bumblebees which flowers still carry nectar — a small roadside miracle that is wonderful to show children.

The trade is dominated by varieties of Pulmonaria officinalis and Pulmonaria saccharata such as ‚Mrs Moon‘ or ‚Sissinghurst White‘, plus modern selections like ‚Blue Ensign‘ with pure blue flowers or ‚Majesté‘ with almost entirely silver leaves. The red-flowering Pulmonaria rubra often opens as early as February.

The name comes from the medieval doctrine of signatures: the spotted leaves reminded people of lung tissue, so the plant was held to be a lung remedy. It plays hardly any role in modern herbal use — but as a garden perennial it has become irreplaceable.

The ideal spot is partial shade beneath shrubs in humus-rich, not-too-dry soil. There, lungwort builds dense colonies over the years and self-seeds moderately. Planted too sunny and dry, the foliage tends towards powdery mildew in summer — the most common care mistake.

We like to combine lungwort with hellebores, primroses and early daffodils: together they give a shade bed that flowers continuously from late winter to May. If the foliage turns shabby after flowering, cut it back completely at the base — within three weeks a fresh, healthy tuft of leaves stands in its place.