Omphalodes
Omphalodes spp.
Special Features
Has bright blue flowers resembling forget-me-nots. This ground cover is ideal for underplanting in woodland gardens, providing a splash of spring color.
Plant Specifications
Our team will help you integrate this plant into your landscape design
Growing Omphalodes on Martha's Vineyard
Omphalodes cappadocica, the navelwort, is a refined shade perennial that brings early-season brilliance to the sheltered woodland gardens of Martha's Vineyard with its intense sky-blue flowers in April and May, rivaling forget-me-nots in color but exceeding them in perennial reliability. It thrives in the cool, moist, humus-rich soils of partially shaded borders on properties in West Tisbury and the sheltered historic neighborhoods of Edgartown, where consistent spring moisture supports strong growth and prolific flowering. The semi-evergreen foliage holds through mild island winters, providing low-level ground coverage even in the shoulder seasons.
Deer generally avoid it, supporting its use in open garden situations. Estate Care teams favor it as a spring anchor plant in shade compositions where early-season color and reliable perennial behavior are both non-negotiable.
