Nobody puts Bacopa in the corner...

To be fair, nearly everyone puts Bacopa (Sutera cordata) in a corner. It's a bushy, trailing plant and often stuffed in hanging baskets as a filler or backdrop for more look-at-me flowers. But not in my garden...

At the end of last summer I ate at Aurora in Soho with my friend Tracy and couldn't take my eyes off a lovely trailing White Bacopa or Snowtopia in their backyard. Individually, the flowers are really cute in their simplicity, but have real impact once in full flow.

I loved how this simple plant, normally the trustworthy backing singer was the Beyonce. So earlier this year I bought myself a window box, stuffed it with Bacopa Cabana and dreamt of all-singing all-dancing trailing white flowers. It didn't disappoint.

From this...

To this...

I also planted a hanging basket at the same time, but unfortunately it didn't make it through the summer and passed out over a period of hot days in August. But that wasn't the Bacopa's fault ~ apparently hanging baskets are pretty needy.

OTHER THINGS I KNOW ABOUT BACOPA

Not just white, it comes in yellow, blue, lavender and pink, but apparently the white ones flower for the longest. From about June to October in full or semi-shade.

You can also get large white flowered varieties, such as Atlas White or Giant Snowflake. I used a variety called Cabana from young plants.

A form of the plant Bacopa Monnieri or Brahmi is also considered a herb and superfood as the extract is used in medicine for easing stress, and focusing the mind. I wouldn’t start munching on your hanging baskets without consulting your Ayurvedic Medicine Consultant, but this little hero can not only carry it’s own, but make you smarter. Who knew!?

So move over petunias! There’s a new hanging basket hero in town.

"Gardening is the slowest of the performing arts."
Author unknown