…and I’m not talking about the weather here.

Spring has arrived but as for the good weather….well we are still waiting. I am wondering if I will be able to remove the snow plough from our tractor before Easter….I very much doubt it!

Nope instead I’m talking about the colour blue. Some of the most striking plants in the garden come with the colour blue.

“Blue is the only color which maintains its own character in all its tones… it will always stay blue; whereas yellow is blackened in its shades, and fades away when lightened; red when darkened becomes brown, and diluted with white is no longer red, but another color – pink.” –Raoul Dufy

Blue is considered a cool colour and it’s effect can be calming, soothing and harmonious  in a garden, as well as aiding intuition. For me, it fits in well with most colour schemes in the garden, especially working well with orange (I don’t believe I just said that).

Blue flowers can vary from pale blue through to the deep blues, including many of our garden favourites: Iris, Delphinium, Agapanthus, Allium and Echinops; but for me the one that has the most striking of all the blue flowers is the small but striking…..Gentiana, some say the queen of all the alpines.

Gentiana verna

It may be small but it has a large genus with over several hundred species, it is truly beautiful, but some can be a little troublesome to grow.

Gentiana angustifolia

The next plant is one of my all time favourites, definitely in my top five ….

Salvia guarantica ‘Blue Enigma’

Salvia guarantica ‘Blue Enigma’ can grow to 1.5 metres in height and flowers all through the summer right till the end of the autumn. It is a must have perennial.

Echinops ritro ‘Veitch’s Blue’

This one is a beautiful tall upright perennial, that would look good in any herbaceous border, it is dead easy to grow as well.

Allium caeruleum

Allium caeruleum is a scented bulbous herbaceous perennial, growing to a height of approximately 80cm, flowering in early summer.

Delphinium ‘Guardian Blue’

Now we can’t forget about Delphiniums, several to choose from here but one in particular is a right little beauty and that is Delphinium ‘Guardian Blue’. Flowering in June/July this blue/purple Delphinium is a wonderful addition to any border.

Lobelia ‘Cambridge Blue’

As for the annuals, you can’t beat Lobelia. Many blues to choose from here but I had to put in ‘Cambridge Blue’.

So there you have it, plenty of blue flowering plants you can add to your garden and I didn’t even mention the ‘Blue Spruces’ and ‘Blue bamboos’ you can get.  Although I couldn’t go without adding some sort of musical connection. I very nearly turned this into a ‘Rock Garden’ post, with a Blues connection of course.

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Rosa ‘Blue for You’

So this is a beautiful Floribunda Rose that will flower from May right through till September.

And finally…….