5 Blue Flowers Every Garden Must Have
Posted on October 8, 2009
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The color blue has been associated with peace,, rest, tranquility and truth. It is associated with the sky, ocean and coolness as well. The color blue relates to the dreams, thoughts and our imaginations. The dreamers or idealists often love the color blue because it can bring out the natural artistic talents.
Blue flowers can bring a calmness to the garden other flowers can not. They are important to have when things are not going well in your life and you need a place of refuge and peace to go to. Here are five “must have” blue flowers for every garden:
1. Hydrangeas
These are classic beauties that can produce stunning blue flowers if you keep your soil acidic enough. A popular cultivar is Hydrangea ‘Nikko Blue’. It is a terrific accent shrub that can be used along borders or as a specimen planting. It has abundant, large showy blooms that are globe shaped and in clusters. Hydrangea ‘Nikko Blue’ grows fast to 4-6 feet tall and wide. Plant in partial shade. To encourage the blooms to keep your soil pH in the range of 5.2-5.5. To lower your pH include aluminum sulfate at the rate of 2 tbsp/gal. There are also pH acidifier kits sold; just follow the directions on the package. Hydrangeas are also great for wedding centerpieces.
2. Blue Salvia
Blue Salvia is an excellent perennial with blooms from early spring through fall. It is an excellent for mass plantings, in containers or as cut flowers. It grows to 18″ tall by 12″ wide, produces blue/purple flowers and is very drought tolerant; it is a native to the southwest. Needs full sun and can tolerate infertile soils.
3. Blue Verbena
This is a fantastic plant to grow in the garden because it is a perennial in southern states, drought resistant once established and some varieties have great blue color like the Verbena x hybrida ‘Blue Lagoon’. It blooms all summer long, grows 12″ high and needs full sun. It can be used in borders, mass plantings or containers. This particular variety is also very mildew resistant.
4. Blue Plumbago
This is another great plant that produces stunning clusters of blue flowers. This perennial shrub/vine can get as tall and wide as 10 feet if it is not trimmed. It can be trained as a vine if it has a support like a trellis, arbor or pergola. Also, it is great used as a ground cover but will need some pruning to keep it’s height in check. Blue Plumbago requires full sun but can tolerate some shade.
5. Vinca Minor (Periwinkle)
Vinca Minor or Periwinkle is an old fashioned ground cover vine that produces blue flowers about the size of quarters. They need average soil, good drainage and some shade to thrive. They grow to approximately 6″ tall and spread 18″ wide. Periwinkles are often used in mass plantings in commercial as well as residential settings.
If you have some good sunlight inside this winter you may even consider planting these from either seed or cuttings. Check back soon for more information on blue flowers!
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