Lungwort or Pulmonaria officinalis is an old favourite in English Cottage gardens.

It is a spring flowering hardy perennial that nowadays is often used as ground cover. The funnel shaped flowers have an attractive habit of opening pink and changing into a deep blue as they mature.

It’s other names are Jerusalem Cowslip, Spotted dog, Adam and Eve, Joseph and Mary, or Bethlehem Sage. Bees appreciate its early flowers.

The name pulmonaria comes from the Latin pulmo which means lung. The silvery white spots on the long blue-green hairy leaves were also thought to look like lungs and therefore the plant was considered useful for curing lung diseases. Nicholas Culpepper writing in 1649 thought it was good for coughs and shortness of breath.

Today some people use Lungwort to grow around crops like lettuces to help protect them against attacks from slugs and snails. I haven’t tried this so am unable to vouch for it working - supposedly the slugs and snails don't like the hairy foliage!

Soil and situation

Lungwort is easy to grow.

It prefers rich moist soil but it does fine in any ordinary soil as long as it is in shade – the hot sun will make it wilt away.

It grows to 6 - 12 inches or 15 - 30cm and spreads to approx the same. Lift and divide large clumps every three to five years after flowering or in autumn.

Water often in dry weather – applying a good mulch in the late winter will help to conserve moisture around it. Although it prefers damp soil – it doesn’t like waterlogged soil.

Lungwort is an ideal groundcover plant in a shady garden and looks good under roses, trees or shrubs. You can also plant it near the front of your borders or to edge a shady path. As it flowers from March to May it looks good with taller spring bulbs.

It will grow well in large pots and containers – because the plant has creeping roots it needs room for them to spread – a tub with a taller shrub could have some lungwort plants underneath it.

The flowers do well as cut flowers as long as you don’t put the vase in the sun.

There are many attractive garden varieties available to buy from garden shops and centres - with flowers ranging from white to pink and the deepest blue.

Pulmonaria angustifolia Munstead Blue has wonderful deep blue flowers
Pulmonaria officinalis 'Blue Mist' has delicate powder blue flowers

Raspberry Splash has lovely raspberry flowers and foliage that is covered with splashes of silver

Pulmonaria Sissinghurst White has white flowers
Pulmonaria rubra has coral red flowers.

Enjoy your garden.