Sticky Blue Eyed Mary: A Charming Native Annual for Western Gardens
If you’re looking to add a touch of delicate charm to your Pacific Coast garden, let me introduce you to one of nature’s sweetest little performers: sticky blue eyed Mary (Collinsia rattanii). This enchanting native annual might not be the showiest plant in your garden, but what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in character and ecological value.
Meet Your New Garden Friend
Sticky blue eyed Mary is a native forb – essentially a soft-stemmed flowering plant that completes its entire life cycle in just one year. As an annual, this little beauty puts all its energy into producing those adorable snapdragon-like flowers before setting seed for next year’s generation. It’s classified as a forb because it lacks the woody stems you’d find on shrubs and trees, instead growing as a herbaceous plant with perennating buds right at or below the soil surface.
Where Does It Call Home?
This Pacific Coast native has made itself comfortable across California, Oregon, and Washington. Being native to the lower 48 states means it’s perfectly adapted to regional growing conditions and plays an important role in local ecosystems. When you plant sticky blue eyed Mary, you’re not just adding beauty to your garden – you’re supporting the web of life that has evolved alongside this plant for thousands of years.
Why You’ll Fall in Love With This Plant
There’s something irresistibly sweet about sticky blue eyed Mary’s small, tubular flowers that bloom in shades of blue and white. The flowers have that classic snapdragon family shape that makes them look like tiny faces peering up at you from the garden. While individual plants might be modest in stature, they create a lovely carpet effect when grown in drifts.
The sticky part of its common name refers to the plant’s slightly tacky stems and leaves – a charming quirk that adds to its personality rather than detracting from its appeal.
Perfect Spots in Your Garden
Sticky blue eyed Mary shines brightest in:
- Native plant gardens where you want to showcase regional flora
- Wildflower meadows for a natural, unmanicured look
- Partially shaded areas where other annuals might struggle
- Rock gardens where its delicate texture provides nice contrast
- Naturalized landscapes that mimic local ecosystems
Growing Conditions That Make It Happy
One of the best things about growing native plants like sticky blue eyed Mary is that they’re already adapted to your local conditions. This cool-season annual thrives in USDA hardiness zones 8-10, perfectly matching the Pacific Coast climate where it naturally occurs.
Give your sticky blue eyed Mary:
- Partial shade to full sun (it’s quite adaptable)
- Well-draining soil – it doesn’t like wet feet
- Cool-season growing conditions
- Minimal supplemental watering once established
Planting and Care Made Simple
The beauty of growing native annuals is their low-maintenance nature. Here’s how to get started with sticky blue eyed Mary:
When to Plant: Direct seed in fall for spring blooms. This timing mimics the plant’s natural cycle and gives seeds the cool, moist winter conditions they need.
Planting: Scatter seeds over prepared soil and lightly rake in. Don’t bury them too deeply – these small seeds need light to germinate properly.
Care: Once established, sticky blue eyed Mary is remarkably self-sufficient. Water during dry spells in its first season, but mature plants typically handle Pacific Coast conditions without supplemental irrigation.
The Gift That Keeps Giving: Allow plants to set seed, and you’ll likely enjoy volunteer seedlings in future seasons. This self-seeding habit makes sticky blue eyed Mary an excellent choice for naturalized areas.
Supporting Local Wildlife
When you plant sticky blue eyed Mary, you’re rolling out the welcome mat for local pollinators. Small native bees and other beneficial insects are drawn to its nectar-rich flowers, making your garden a rest stop in the busy world of pollinator highways.
The Bottom Line
Sticky blue eyed Mary might not be the flashiest plant in the nursery, but it offers something special: the satisfaction of growing a true native that supports local ecosystems while adding gentle beauty to your garden. Its easy-care nature and ability to self-seed make it perfect for gardeners who want to work with nature rather than against it.
If you’re building a native plant garden or simply want to add some regional character to your landscape, sticky blue eyed Mary deserves a spot on your planting list. Sometimes the smallest gestures – like planting a humble native annual – make the biggest difference for the world around us.
