Here's another stalwart for the shade garden and one I wouldn't be without. Pulmonaria tucks in nicely between other plants and is one of the first to emerg in my zone 3 garden. Evergreen in warmer climates I believe. Most have variegated leaves, often with silvery spots of various degrees; some almost totally silver to really brighten up the shade. It flowers in the early spring often with blooms that change from pink to blue to give you two for one. Often the first leaves with the flowers are smaller, then new growth is larger after the flowers are gone. Some plants are prone to mildew but just cut then back and they will put out fresh new foliage.

Yes, one of my very favorite plants. A real workhorse! Pretty in all seasons except dead of winter here. I have been trying to add more to my collection when I see them.

Are there any that don't seed themselves like weeds? I've been working on getting rid of it because I couldn't keep it under control.

Mine go dormant mid summer and I have not had any problem with them self-seeding. The variety I have is:

I may have to find this plant to add to my landscape. For sharing about it.

With the deer issues I have here, I've about given up on hostas. Pulmonarias are a great alternative. They have a similar shape and form of some hostas, but the deer don't seem to like them at all - yay for pulmonarias! I also like the flowers that emerge in spring. Late last summer after the deer had completely eaten the row of mature hostas that have bordered my front walkway for 20 years, I decided I was finally tired of fighting it and became pretty obsessed with finding every cultivar of pulmonaria locally that I could. As it was late in the season there wasn't much out there, but I'll be on the lookout again next spring. A great pairing is with polemonium aka Jacobs Ladder. They bloom at the same time and the structural elements of the two plants look really nice together. I was introduced to that garden gem of a pairing when I saw a photo that @Catmint20906 posted a few years ago.

Cultivars that I have in my gardens

Thanks, Aspen! I love pulmonaria, too--and also Jacob's Ladder!

I love both the flowers in the spring and the foliage that light up my shade garden even when they are no longer blooming.

I have several. I am going to have to find that Smokey Blue though.

Pulmonaria is a great shade plant. I love that there are often different colored flowers on the same plant. The foliage looks nice after bloom time too.

To me, the different colored flowers on a single plant are one of the best parts of pulmonaria! And also the cool foliage.

They are definitely a favorite of ours, even if they never had a bloom on them.