Drive By Viewing: Gentian in Bloom

For the sweet lady who stopped her car yesterday, here is a photo of the mysterious blue gentian you have been seeing in bloom for the last few weeks. I no longer have a proper rock garden in the front yard but I do have rock and I do have this rock adapted Himalayan beauty: Gentian acaulis.
The plant is only a few inches (5 cm) tall but the flowers are that tall again. It blooms from late May to mid-June in Alberta and it definitely stops cars with it's vibrant blue blooms.

So many people have stopped by in the last few days to ask about this plant that I thought it deserved it's own mention on the blog. I was outdoors weeding and fluffing soil...(AKA playing in the garden) and one lady told me she had been walking by for years hoping to see me out front. I ensure you I do weed and fluff more than once every few years but we had not crossed paths until Monday. The lady who stopped her car said she pulled over as soon as she saw I was in the garden. She was so curious to find out about this plant and had been wondering about it for a few weeks.

This hardy perennial is a beauty and tough as nails. In the past I have seen it sold at Greengate Garden Centre, Wilhelm Roth's private back yard in NW Calgary, and the Calgary Rock Garden Society (CRAGS) spring sale.