my boss's forget me nots are perennial here in PA- and they reseed, taboot.

alyssum might also be perennial in your neck of the woods, and makes a nice groundcover, especially the purple varieties...though my favorite has become a standing yellow type that blooms in the early spring :)

Forget me knots are great so is ajuga, kinicknick, how about herbs? Thymes are wonderful nd there many varieties.

I am sorry to intrude on this post since I am normally not a poster of gardening in the shade, although I do enjoy all of your posts. I have several kinnikinicks that went on sale for a dollar each in Lowes. They are cute little shrubs BUT I thought they needed full sun. Can they also survive in shade? part shade? Thanks - Carrie

I have them planted in both and they are doing great.

Thanks, Echoes - so good to know! Carrie

You might also consider siberian bugloss, Brunnera macrophylla. There are many cultivars. I have "Jack Frost" and love it. It has small blue flowers that are like forget-me-nots and the foliage is variegated green and silver. Mine is in part shade and grows to 16" and spreads over about 1 square foot.

I have brunnera and forget-me-nots under trees and they both do great. I have to say that the brunnera foliage is prettier and lasts long after the flowers fade. I like plain green, jack Frost and Langtrees - all have lovely large heart-shaped leaves bothered by few pests.

Myosotis palustris, or water forget-me-not, is a perennial, evergreen forget-me-not that reflowers throughout the summer. As you may gather from the name, they prefer a damp site. Here's a potful I bought earlier this year.

HELP! My Forget-me-knots have given me beautiful flowers all the month of May and now they are turning brown and dying. Do I cut them back and will they BLOOM again this year or do I just let them be and they die on their own. They came back from last year. And, I do remember my garden being UGLY after they died.

They are BEAUTIFUL in the Spring front gardens!
Hope someone can help. sgt40@charter.net

perennial Forget-me- nots bloom in the spring and naturally die back after that. That is the nature of the plant and no amount of cutting back can stop what is the plants natural bloom season

For shade groundcover try Golden Creeping Jenny Moneywort. The gold colored leaves really pop in the shade and they have small yellow flowers from May to August

I thought they were a biennial and came back the next year from the seeds that germinated in the fall.
Von