funnthsun, I'm puzzled over your comment about bulbs that won't overwinter and must be dug up, particularly tulips. I'm also in USDA Zone 7, coastal NJ, and all manner of bulbs do just fine here (excepting the tender ones like glads, amaryllis and canna, of course, though some people claim to have overwintered the latter two in protected locations with a good mulch). My tulips keep coming back year after year. My dad and I had a running joke about it because he kept throwing his away each year thinking they'd never bloom again. So I asked him to please throw the next bunch my way. He did. I planted. Next spring he asked about the beautiful tulips at the end of the drive ... my reply? "What tulips, you know those won't come back." He'd laugh and shrug his shoulders. It became a spring ritual. Galanthus, chionodoxa, squill, camassia, tulips, daffodils of all sorts, muscari, allium, lilies, fritillaria (checkered lily), lycoris ... all come back year after year without being lifted or given any other special attention. Sorry to hear the reviews on the lithodora 'Grace Ward', as I just fell in love with the evergreen foliage and awesome blue flowers and had to try one. Will place it in my sandy soil where it will get good morning sun, then dappled shade from around 11:00 on, and hope for the best; there's not much one can do about the humidity. I wish could tell you which pulmonaria I have: neat, compact habit and that same Grace Ward blue, but it only gets a few hours of morning sun, so may not be right for your needs. What a delightful selection of blues your post has brought forth! Hope you find one that works for your taste and situation.

I planted some grace ward lithodora last year. Like you, I was drawn to those brilliant blue flowers at the garden shop. Very pretty plant. I stupidly planted some on my retaining wall, which is now in full shade because of the quick growth of my crape myrtles! It grew just fine and even spread some, but it didn't bloom at all without the sunlight. I was very disappointed. So... a few weeks ago, I dug it up and transplanted it to a full sun bed. It is brown and pitiful looking right now, but I'm hoping for some regrowth by the end of summer. I am trying to give it some CPR by watering it and fertilizing, but so far it's not looking good. Will keep you informed. At this point my recommendation would be full morning sun with partial afternoon sun to shade here in our scorching Alabama heat. Here is a nice pic of it when it was young and freshly planted. Too bad it doesn't resemble this at ALL anymore. :o)

Kathy, Lithodora is actually a plant for zones 7 to 9. In my neck of the woods it's considered a tender perinnal and needs to be in a protected area because of our winters. It should be planted in a location where it will get full morning sun and mostly shade in the afternoon. Also it should be in a well drained area but kept evenly moist. I hope this resolves you dilema! Please feel free to email me(kikky69@gmail.com)at any time regarding plant questions, I spent 9 years working in the horticulture field.

It is not in your Southern Living Garden Book because it generally does not grow well in the south or southwest, especially in full sun or mostly full sun. It also needs excellent drainage (rock garden type drainage). In a very wet season similar to what most of Oklahoma had last year and like the wet spring NE Oklahoma has had already this year, it won't survive the rain unless it is an area with absolutely perfect drainage. (And, it might not survive even then.) Several people in Texas have tried it and had it "go away" in the hot summer sun. Similar reports have been made by garderners in Georgia. Even though it is reportedly hardy in zones 7 through 9, all zone 7 weather is not the same. You know, if someone in zone 7 or 8 in the Pacific Northwest tried this plant, it probably would grow well for them, maybe even in full sun. But in southern states' zone 7 and 8 areas, I don't think it has a chance. However, if you really, really want to try it, AND if the nursery from whom you're purchasing it has a one-year guarantee (save your receipt!), then why not try one single test plant and see if you are happy with its' performance? If you are happy with its' first-year performance, then you can always plant more next year. I guess it depends if you are a gambler or not. (I'm not.) Dawn