We envision a resilient world dependent on the thoughtful cultivation of plants

Designing with Blue

Articles: Designing with Blue

My how we love blue flowers.

From “A Gardener Comes to Term with Blue” in the fall issue of Pacific Horticulture:

When I talk of blue, you realize, I mean true primary blue, or those blues diluted with white or fortified with black, not the blues tainted with pink, or lit up with yellow. I list turquoise and periwinkle among my favorite color, but consider neither blue True blue, so rare in nature, finds its most glorious expression in flowers: forget-me-nots, sages, and gentians.

(Daniel’s caveat emptor: though I find all of the following flowers to be true blue. However, due to the instability of blue pigments and under the influence of climate, growing conditions, or the perception of the eye of the beholder hues may veer into a purplish territory. For an example: the many blue-flowered members of the borage family will change colors as the pH of the flower changes over time, often indicating whether it has been pollinated or not.)


Myosotis sylvatica ‘Royal Blue’ Photo: Daniel Mount
Myosotis sylvatica ‘Royal Blue’ Photo: Daniel Mount

Spring:

Bellevalia pycnantha

Ceanothus ‘Dark Star’; C. ‘Mt. Haze’; C. ‘Julia Phelps’

Chionodoxa forbesii ‘ Blue Giant’; C. sardensis

Corydalis flexuosa ‘Blue Panda’; C. ‘China Blue’; C. ‘Pere David’

Hyacinthus ‘Delft Blue’; H. ‘Blue Jacket’

Lithodora diffusa ‘Grace Ward’

Mertensia paniculata; M. virginica

Muscaria armeniacum 'Blue Eyes' Photo: Daniel Mount
Muscaria armeniacum ‘Blue Eyes’ Photo: Daniel Mount

Muscaria armeniacum ‘Valerie Finnis’; M. a. ‘Blue Eyes’; M. aucheri ‘Blue Magic’

Myosotidium hortensia

Myosotis scorpoides; M. sylvatica ‘Royal Blue’

Omphaloides cappadocica ‘Cherry Ingram’

Pulmonaria ‘Blue Ensign’, P. ‘Benediction’; P. angustifolia subsp. azurea

Scilla siberica ‘Spring Beauty’

Syringa vulgaris ‘President Lincoln’

Tulipa humilis ‘Alba Coerulea Oculata’

Viola ×wittrockiana 'Delta True Blue' Photo: Daniel Mount
Viola ×wittrockiana ‘Delta True Blue’ Photo: Daniel Mount

Viola ×wittrockiana ‘Whiskers Light Blue’; V. ‘Delta True Blue’

Anagallis monellii Photo: Daniel Mount
Anagallis monellii Photo: Daniel Mount

Summer:

Allium azurem

Amsonia hubrichtii ‘Blue Ice’; A. tabernaemontana

Anagallis monellii

Centaurea cyanus ‘Blue Boy’

Delphinium grandiflorum ‘Blue Butterfly' Photo: Daniel Mount
Delphinium grandiflorum ‘Blue Butterfly’ Photo: Daniel Mount

Delphinium grandiflorum ‘Blue Butterfly’, D. g. ‘Blauer Zwerg’, D. ‘Blue Bird Group’

Gentiana acaulis; G. asclepiadea; G. septemfida; G. ‘True Blue’;

Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Enziandom’ Photo: Daniel Mount
Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Enziandom’ Photo: Daniel Mount

Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Enziandom’; H. m. ‘Nikko Blue’; H. m. ‘Eisvogel’; H. m. ‘Libelle’

Ipomoea tricolor ‘Heavenly Blue’

Nigella damascena ‘Miss Jekyll’; N. d. ‘Oxford Blue’

S. uliginosa  Photo: Daniel Mount
S. uliginosa Photo: Daniel Mount

Fall:

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides; C. willmottianum

Saliva azurea; S. chamaedryoides; S. guaranitica ‘Argentine Skies’; S. patens ‘Cambridge Blue’; S. reptans; S. uliginosa

 

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Responses

Social Media

Garden Futurist Podcast

Most Popular

Videos

Topics

Related Posts

Pacific Plant People: Carol Bornstein

Spring 2022 Public gardens play a key role in demonstrating naturalistic planting design, selecting native and adapted plants for habitat, and testing techniques for reducing

Powered By MemberPress WooCommerce Plus Integration

Your free newsletter starts here!

Don’t want to see this pop-up? Members, log-in here.

Why do we ask for your zip code?

We do our best to make our educational content relevant for where you garden.

Why do we ask for your zip code?

We do our best to make our educational content relevant for where you garden.

The information you provide to Pacific Horticulture is NEVER sold, shared, or rented to others.

Pacific Horticulture generally sends only two newsletters per Month.