|
Home > Flower and garden articles > True blue baby, I love you…
True blue baby, I love you…
 Blue - in its purest form - is undoubtedly the most beloved of all garden colours. It’s also the most ambiguous and versatile. It can be cool and distant and yet, at other times, warm and soothing. Either way, it’s easy to have all the various shades of this wonderful colour all year ‘round in your garden - just see our list of suggested plants to whet your appetite.
We’re utterly convinced that there’s something magical about the colour blue - it seems to entrance gardeners, capturing their imaginations and never letting go!
What is it about this colour that makes it so special? Is it because a true blue is so elusive in the garden (which only serves to make it more desirable)? Or perhaps it’s because this colour is so versatile - it can be cool and distant or warm and soothing.
We have also found that combining blue with another colour or two only enhances it further so we indulge whole-heartedly in it! I especially love the classic combination of blue and white but the cheerful mix of blue and yellow never fails to brighten our day!
Whatever the reason that we’re so spell-bound by blue, it’s good to know that most of our appetite can be amply satisfied with the many shades surrounding the true shade - including the lovely lilacs, vivacious violets and must-have mauves.
Below we’ve listed some of our favourite blue flowering plants season by season to help you plan for your own year round supply of blue!
Blue SUMMER flowering bulbs and perennials (to plant now)
These are all available now from our Spring 2000 Catalogue but only until October 13th or whilst stocks last.
‘Californian Skies’ Blue eyed Grass - **NEW** A sea of sweet little sky-blue flowers float above the tufts of grassy foliage. This wonderful plant flowers for an exceptionally long time (late Winter to Spring) and the foliage is great for filling in nooks, crannies and corners all year round.
‘Charles Ricardo’ Perennial Phlox - This plant forms a neat compact (25x20cm) mass of soft lavender-blue flowers that colour the garden in both Summer and Autumn. This phlox is the ‘alpine’ type which means it’s very hardy - tolerating full sun, poor soil and chilly nights.
Agapanthus ‘Guilfoyle’ - This is one of the darkest and most dashing of all the blue agapanthus we’ve ever encountered! It’s almost midnight blue in colour!
Ajuga ‘Catlins Giant’ - If you’re a blue lover with a shady patch you’ll adore this plant because it produces lovely spires in Spring which are densely covered in blue florets. The plant’s other great feature is its dense and very flat mat of foliage which is a wonderful alternative to grass in shady areas. Of course, Hosta ‘Blue Wedgewood’ with its blue-grey foliage is also an interesting plant for ‘blue’ shady gardens.
Chatham Island Forget-Me-Not (Myosotidium) - This is one of the most breath-taking of all possible blue selections. The huge flower heads are produced in truly unforgettable forget-me-not blue! It’s simply a sensational garden show off - especially since the super glossy dinner plate sized foliage is also stunning.
Echinops - These flowers are very distinctive and they bring a great deal of interest to the garden (and to floral arrangements) because they’re unusual in shape (with their spiky spheres) and colour also - they’re a shiny metallic blue.
Japanese Iris - These large iris (the largest of all the Iris) float seemingly effortlessly on top of tall, strong stems. They have an amazingly strong aura of serenity which will pervade the surrounding garden. They’re also easy to grow and come in several shades of blue from soft lilac blue to bold royal blue.
Nemesias - If you want an almost never-ending display of blue flowers for the front of the garden beds or as a floral edging plant you simply can’t surpass these generous plants. Their warm blue flowers simply last and last and last and last (for almost 11 months of the year if you give them the occasional light trim)!
Nepeta (catmints) ‘Blue Beauty’ and ‘Smokey Blue’ -These are wonderful care-free plants that flower most of the year (Spring, Summer & Autumn) in a variety of mauve and smokey blues. They’re great for flowering borders, hedges or simply for “filling in“ the gaps.
Penstemon ‘Sky Blue’ - This Penstemon has unusual clear sky blue flowers which makes it much loved amongst the many gardeners who are discovering this relatively new Penstemon. The other facet we enjoy about this variety is its low spreading habit which is easily appreciated at the front of the garden from where it will billow out onto the surrounding paths or lawns.
Perennial Geraniums ‘Rozanne’ - Geraniums are another of our favourite plants with their soft mounds of foliage (which make wonderful free-flowing ground covers) but it’s the mesmerising brilliant blue flowers which steals the show. This variety is about the best of the blue flowering Geraniums we’ve seen since it flowers full-on and non-stop from Spring until Autumn.
Pin cushion flowers ‘Alpina’ (Scabiosa) - These violet blue pin-cushion shaped flowers appear in continuous abundance from Spring, all through Summer and well into Autumn. They’re exceptionally generous and the epitome of cottage style gardens.
Veronica ‘Martje’ - It’s hard to resist these extra long (to 20cm) and elegant spires of blue. This variety is particularly generous since it flowers in Spring, Summer and Autumn.
Wisteria - you can’t resist the romantic china blue droplets of the Wisteria sinensis. This tough plant is indispensable as a climber to cloak your verandahs, fences, etc. It can be very strong but is also quite easy to control with a pair of secateurs.
Blue SPRING flowering bulbs and perennials
Although many ‘blue’ perennials start flowering in Spring (see the descriptions of those above) it is the bulbs which really steal the show and so our list below is all about these eye-popping members of the plant world.
All of these bulbs can be planted from late January until mid May each year and are available in our Summer catalogues (which is due out in January 2001.)
Hyacinths -Amongst the early openers of the Spring show are the noble Hyacinths. These highly fragrant blooms offer a range of blues from dark royal blue, to delft and soft china blue.
Anemones - both the single (De Caen) and double (St.Brigid) Anemones have near electric blue blooms which flower from late Winter for many weeks.
Freesias - highly fragrant and care free.
Dutch Iris - Brilliant deep royal blue (Viscount) or soft pale blue (Dutchy Blue)
Others include - the Dutch Crocus, Bearded Iris, Babiana, Grape Hyacinths and many, many more.
Blue AUTUMN flowering bulbs and perennials
Even though we traditionally think of Autumn as that time when the garden starts “falling asleep“ for its Winter hibernation, there are still many bulbs and perennials which will cheerfully and reliably bring a shade or two of blue to the garden during this period….
Many of these perennials have already been mentioned in the Summer flowering section such as:
‘Californian Skies’ Blue eyed Grass, Nemesia, ‘Charles Ricardo’ Perennial Phlox, Pin cushion flowers ‘Alpina’ (Scabiosa), Echinops, Nepeta, Penstemon and Veronica ‘Martje’ to mention a few.
Naturally, there are many other Autumn flowering ‘blue’ plants to choose from, many of which are available from our Winter catalogues (available in May). These include:
Veronica ‘Georgia Blue’ - a brilliant ground cover smothered in mid blue.
Veronica spicata - the traditional shrubs covered in mid purple-blue spires.
Russian Sage (Perovskia) which is like a billowing lavender bush but hardier.
Verbena ‘Babylong Series’ - has a lovely soft mauve shade
Sea Holly (Eryngium) - Silvery blue thimble shaped blooms, each with a lacy ‘collar’.
Delphiniums - including the striking and long flowering ‘Blue Sensation’ and the similar variety called ‘Peace’.
Calibrachoa - a dense very low growing ground cover smothered in blue (or pink) flowers.
Blue WINTER flowering bulbs and perennials
Even though many of the blue flowering bulbs and perennials are in hibernation during Winter there are some wonderful ones which will generously flower to ensure your supply of blue is continued through the dark, dull days of this cold season.
‘Californian Skies’ Blue eyed Grass - which will start flowering in late Winter.
Nemesia - these wonderful flowers, if trimmed, will bring warm blue to Winter.
Winter Iris (I.stylosa) ‘Mia’ - will flower throughout the dull season.
Viola ‘Czarina’ - as with other violets, will show off their charming deep violet blue flowers during this otherwise dull period.
Jacob’s Ladder - is also another great plant for Winter because the clusters of soft blue blooms appear from late Winter onwards.
|
