Ajuga

Four years ago my British gardener friend was visiting and helping me plant up some of my flower beds.  We went to a local nursery (garden center) and she picked out one of her favorite groundcovers - Ajuga reptans "Black Scallop" - or Bugleweed.  She had put these in my garden in Essex, England as well before we moved to the USA.  After planting them in a flower bed close to the house, she noticed that it was actually growing wild in the meadow in front of the house.  She gathered up as many as she could and transplanted them all around.  I now have a carpet of Ajuga which sends up beautiful flower spikes at this time of year (April/May).

Ajuga is native to Europe and Asia, but has been introduced to various parts of the USA. (The USDA website has a map showing where it has been introduced.  The New England Wild Flower Society also has a map and photos showing its distribution in that part of the country.)  It does produce seeds, but apparently the seeds don't always mature.  It spreads mostly by sending out runners, like strawberry plants.

It is a great plant for the Pacific Northwest because it is very hardy, is good in the shade and likes moist soil. It also has purple leaves which lets it stand out among all the GREEN. The deer, rabbits and slugs leave it alone. It holds its own against more aggressive weeds, but still plays nice with taller plants.  The photos below show it sending up flower spikes despite being engulfed by creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens) and blackberry brambles (Rubus sp.) in one photo and grass and English plantain (Plantago lanceolata) in another.  It hasn't come up yet, but in the carpet of  bugleweed close to my house I also have columbine (Aquilegia hybrid) which emerges from the carpet and rises above it to bloom in mid-summer.

Ajuga reptans flower spike

Ajuga spike rising above the weeds

Ajuga among the grass and meadow plants

Some websites that have other information about Ajuga:

• Wikipedia - lists all the various species
• Botanical.com; a Modern Herbal - places Ajuga in its historical context discussing how it has been used medicinally over the years. (With the appropriate caution that historical use may not jive with modern medical knowledge!)
• Kew Garden's Fact Sheet
• Some information about a fungus that can affect cultivated Ajuga from the Pacific Northwest Plant Disease Management Handbook published by the Oregon State University Department of Botany and Plant Pathology.