When many plants have finished blooming in late spring and early summer Heartleaf Skullcap begins to bloom. Having continuous blossoms in our gardens and in our larger ecosystems is important for bees and other pollinators. Heartleaf Skullcap is beautiful in its own right and a wonderful addition to any garden.
 
Many gardeners know it is not easy to find blue flowers. This plant has blue and white flowers but I would say that the blue is pretty true. The dark green leaves are held oppositely on the grays stems of the plant. The plant is robust and will spread a little but not overly aggressively. The flowers are tubular in shape making them ideal for many pollinators bees and butterflies. The plant is bitter to taste so deer and other mammals stay away.
 
Plant in the shade to part shade. Many plants that grow in the shade are not in flower in June and early July so this is a big deal. This plant will grow in most soils including gravelly soils and once it is established is drought tolerant. The plants will grow about 18 inches tall. Good companions are Wild Columbine, Canada Anemone, Virginia Anemone, and Bluestem Goldenrod.