This is a garden escape which I see much more frequently these days but quite often not in flower. The variegated leaves are the diagnostic and the flowers seem to be slightly larger than L. purpureum with which it might be confused. This one was flowering freely at the edge of a disused car park but I find it quite regularly escaped from parks and gardens onto nearby grass verges.

It is now found throughout most of England but less often in Wales and Scotland. It is uncommon in Ireland.

Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, Near Boat Museum, 18th May 2005

Added on 18th August 2005, updated 13th March 2010