The famous painting of the Mona Lisa has intrigued art enthusiasts for centuries, especially her enigmatic smile. There's no mystery here, though, 'Mona Lisa Smile' will perform beautifully in your garden, producing paintbrush-like, long spikes of rosy purple flowers. This is one of the first speedwell to flower, starting about two weeks earlier than 'Very Van Gogh'. Its flowers cover most of the terrific, rounded habit.

Veronica is highly valued for its ease of growth and long bloom time. The spiky flowers are an excellent contrast to the more common rounded flower shapes like Shasta Daisies, Coneflower, and Black Eyed Susans. Expect bees to be buzzing about this plant when in bloom.