Never say “never” in the garden. It always comes back to haunt you.
For years I swore that I would never buy carpet bugle or bugleweed—Aujga reptans—under any circumstances. After all, my property came with an abundant supply that has increased exuberantly over time. Every spring the blue-purple spires light up the entire back garden, where the plants have spread into the lawn and insinuated themselves into every flower bed. I don’t mind them at all. Growing grass in the lower back yard is a tough proposition and once the bloom period is over, bugleweed can tolerate light to moderate foot traffic. Unwanted plants are easy to pull out. In places where it thrives, it has the added benefit of outcompeting most weeds, attracting early spring pollinators and requiring absolutely no maintenance. Bugleweed is also relatively unattractive to deer and succeeds in dry shade, which is a real blessing for gardeners blessed—or afflicted—with shady sites.
About the time I swore off buying bugleweed, I decided that if I needed it in the front garden beds, I would simply transplant specimens from the back. As far as I know, the bugleweed that I acquired along with my house is the species form, which has green, somewhat scalloped leaves that turn reddish purple in full sunlight. When not in flower, its appearance is, to quote my gardener-father, “neat, but not gaudy.” Bugleweed has the advantage of rooting readily, like many of its mint family relatives, and for me, the price is right. Not spending money on ajuga for all these years has allowed me to save my pennies for roses and peonies and hundreds of bags of mulch. For the cash-strapped gardener, bugleweed is a good investment.
Last week I violated my years-old resolution and succumbed to a sudden urge to buy ajuga plants. My only defense is that the plants in question were unusual and—perhaps equally important—on sale.
The two new plants are ‘Golden Glow’ and ‘Pink Lightning’ bugleweed. Both are distinctive for their variegated leaves, which are green with light-colored margins. ‘Golden Glow’ has the same low-growing habit—four to six inches tall–and blue-purple flowers as the species. The leaf color varies according to the season and the amount of light the plant receives. The central part of each leaf is medium green. The edges may be cream, yellow, or even tinged with pink or burgundy. This vivid coloration helps lighten up the dark corners and makes a nice contrast with green-leafed varieties. The copy on the plant tag refers to the variety as “restrained” and some sources mention its relatively slow growth habit compared to the species form. This may have something to do with its variegated leaves. In my experience variegated varieties of any species tend to grow more slowly. The leaves, being only partly green, produce less chlorophyll, which may mean less energy for growth.
‘Pink Lightening’ is a sport of another bugleweed variety, ‘Purple Torch.’ According to Tony Avent, of Plant Delights Nursery, the flowers are mauve-pink, rather than the brighter shade that the name suggests. Still, the flower color is a change from the species. The cream leaf edges are a bit narrower than those of ‘Golden Glow,’ but are still distinctive. According to Avent, the plants will spread 6 to 12 inches per year, which sounds more aggressive than ‘Golden Glow’s expansion rate.
I installed my two new variegated beauties in the “hell strip” between the sidewalk and the street. They are shaded by a fairly large maple tree, but will receive plenty of sun in the spring before the maple leafs out for the year. I am trying to create a carpet effect in this area, which tends to be dry as dust. The newbies are mulched to conserve what little moisture is in the soil and will be watered daily until they are nicely settled.
I suspect that other gardeners who have said “never” to bugleweed may eventually give in to one or more of the many tantalizing variegated cultivars available now. ‘Burgundy Glow’ features tri-colored foliage that mixes green with cream and pink edges. A ’Burgundy Glow’ offspring, ‘Binparcol,’ sold as Party Colors, features large, thicker-than-normal leaves in the same three colors that distinguish its parent. ‘Dixie Chip’ is a dwarf bugleweed, growing only two to four inches tall, with foliage coloring similar to that of ‘Burgundy Glow.’ Another dwarf, ‘Toffee Chip,’ features somewhat elongated leaves that are mostly cream with wide green stripes down the middle of each leaf. ‘Arctic Fox’ also sports green and cream variegation and exceptionally tall blue-purple flower spikes. Distinctive gray-green leaves edged with white are unique to ‘Silver Beauty,’ a standard-size bugleweed with tall flower spikes. ‘Sparkler,’ also a dwarf, features irregular variegation, with leaves that are liberally splashed with white stripes and blotches.
Some excellent ajugas, including variegated types, still lurk now on garden center pallets. Plant in any situation, from sun to dry shade, and water well until established. A little sun encourages rosy leaf color in varieties prone to those hues. Bugleweed is somewhat susceptible to crown rot, so don’t plant them in boggy areas. For a good selection of varieties, go to Bluestone Perennials, 7211 Middle Ridge Rd • Madison, OH 44057, (800) 852-5243; www.bluestoneperennials.com. Free catalog.