Vinca minor - Lesser Periwinkle

Phylum: Magnoliophyta - Class: Equisetopsida - Order: Gentianales - Family: Gentianaceae

This plant is widespread throughout the UK and Ireland except for the far north.

The periwinkle is mainly a spring flower, but in the relatively mild climate of western England it produces the occasional bloom in every month of the year. The flowers are usually blue but occasionally white.

Vinca major, the Greater Periwinkle, is very similar but with broader leaves and larger flowers.

Periwinkles are climbing plants, making their best appearances when smothering other woodier shrubs, but they also grow without support on shaded walls and on steep grassy slopes.