Jacob's ladder is a biblical name for a heavenly plant. It grows up to 2' in height with attractive foliage, divided, with 19 to 27 leaflets per leaf. Drooping dainty blue flowers hover over the plant in early summer. This is a clump-forming perennial, mainly hairless but slightly hairy near the flower. The stems are mainly lax but near the flowers they are open, forming erect, bell-shaped lavender blue flowers in early spring. Smaller plants can grow in the front of the border, with taller ones behind them. They need the moist soil of early spring and can grow in sun or in light shade. Use it in the naturalistic garden.