Lobelia erinus grows as a mound of soft, green leaves with deep blue flowers with fan shaped lower lips and yellow centres.
Although a perennial it is generally grown as an annual. Seeds are readily available but most gardeners chose to purchase them as seedlings, mainly because getting the seeds to evenly germinate is not easy.
Lobelia makes a very pretty edging plant that will hang gracefully over rockeries or low walls or just make a neat edge to a flower bed.
It goes nicely with Alyssum and will flower for a long period but is best in spring when it is cooler. The hotter weather sends it back into its shell, when you can cut it back a bit to encourage a good flush of flowers later in summer or early autumn.
Butterfly attractors and also good in hanging baskets.