The Blues

These little blue and white Striped Squill (Puschkinia libanotica) just popped open yesterday. Another welcome sign of spring.

If blue is something you enjoy in your garden, here are some possibilities:

Spring: Scilla Spring Beauty, Hyacinthus orientalis Blue Jacket or Delft Blue, bluebells, Crocus vernus Twilight, Muscari aucheri Blue Magic, Dutch Iris Blue Magic, Amsonia Blue Ice, Columbine Origami Blue & White or Clementine Blue.

Summer: Allium Azureum, Grass Leymus arenarius Blue Dune, Grass Festuca glauea Elijah Blue, Hosta Bix Blue or Blue Mammoth, Tall Bearded Iris Crystal Blue or South Pacific, Balloon Flower Astra Double Blue, Brunnera Jack Frost, Clematis Blue Angel, Delphinium Blue Lace, Geranium Rozanne, Spiderwort Blue Denim.

Fall: Stokes Aster Blue Danube, Sea Holly Blue Glitter, Stokes Aster Peachie's Pick.

Year round: Evergreen tree, Colorado Blue Spruce.

Grow as annuals: Calibrachoa Callie Light Blue, Lobelia Laguna ™ Compact Blue with Eye, Petunia Mini Blue Veined or Surfinia Sky Blue, Salvia Velocity Blue, Torenia Catalina Midnight Blue.

Although these are only some of the blues available, there aren't a lot of true blues out there. Many so called blues may be purple in your garden. I caution that the blue color is determined by many things; I don't guarantee true blue.


Some of the new blues have been hybridized and have lost their "natural" attributes such as timing, smell, and color needed to attract beneficial insects.


Blues need contrast with other plantings to insure they are noticeable. They may fade into the background of green or other dark/similar colors. Blues are most noticeable when used as an accent.


Garden hard scapes may be another way of "bluing" your landscape. There are many beautiful blue pots, glass balls, and art objects. A new tumbled glass "gravel" is advertised as a decorative mulch.


Of course, there is the biggest blue attraction in your landscape: the summer sky. A farm woman I knew as a youngster used to put her hands on her hips, look up at the clear summer sky and say, "You could make a big pair of overalls with that piece of blue."