Botanical name: Echium vulgare
Folk names: Snake flower, blue devil

Type: Biennial

Wildlife: Bees of all types are attracted by this flower and feed from its nectar, including Red-tailed bumblebees and Red Mason Bees. Caterpillar plant for moths. Goldfinches were spotted feeding on the seeds in a customer’s garden!

Flowers: June to August

Decorative merit: Dense, cylindrical spikes of bell-shaped violet-blue flowers on erect, bristly stems with lance-shaped hairy leaves.

Where: Sun. Herb patches, gravel/dry gardens, back of sunny borders with well-drained soil. Good for a coastal or south-facing garden. Has grown up to around 60cm in my south-facing, poor soil herb patch.

Folklore: Appearance of the half-coiled flowers and protruding stems led to its ‘viper’ folk name.  

Borage family relative.

Donate seeds to Exeter Seed Bank