Baby Blue Eyes is a delicate looking, short-lived wildflower native to California. Its small and simple flowers are light blue with a whitish center, though other cultivars such as the Penny Black are much darker. California Blue Bells experience a six- to eight-week blooming period, usually in early spring, and by summer they've ceased blooming or are replaced by flowers more tolerant of heat.
Nemophila menziesii is an annual. Its bell-shaped flowers grow to about one inch across. Its foliage is hairy and fernlike and pale green in color. Baby Blue Eyes are lovely companions to spring bulbs positioned along a garden's front border. Window boxes, rock gardens, and hanging baskets also allow this pale blue beauty to stand out.
Baby Blue Eyes prefers light and dry soils, partial shade and filtered sun, and soil that is moist, well drained, and organically rich. When planting Baby Blue Eyes, provide 6 to 12 inches of space. Dig a hole twice the width and about 1 1/2 times the container height. The rootball should be set at ground level.
The Baby Blue Eyes' genus, Nemophila, is Greek for grove loving or woodland loving. In the wild, Baby Blue Eyes cultivars tend to be found in meadows, grasslands, woodlands, canyons, coastal bluffs, chaparral, and grassy slopes. Flower colors vary but usually include some variation of white with black dots and faint blue veins, or blue with black dots.