This was one of the first flowers to make an appearance in local gardens this spring. Every year I admire it, every year someone asks me to name it, and every year I have to look it up and get back to the questioner.
It is a Lithodora. Which one in particular? I don't know, but I have learned it is a perennial shrub (be it a very low growing shrub) and that it is sometimes confused with the annual Lobelia.
According to WiseGEEK,
"The name of this genus is derived from the Greek words lithos and dorea, which translate to 'stone' and 'gift,' respectively. The common name for each species varies. Lithodora oleifolia is called olive-leaved gromwell, while the heavenly blue variety of Lithodora diffusa is called purple gromwell."
I think this plant needs an AKA. I may begin calling it "Early Blue Gift" or "Early Blue Star," since I seem doomed to never remember its proper Latin moniker.
What would you name this plant if you had the power to dub it something more memorable?