If you're thinking about adding a little blue to your garden, you might want to consider some of the most popular, and easy to grow, blue flowers in North America.
Most people are familiar with the more well-known blue flowers, such as hyacinths, irises, delphiniums, and bell flowers. But you may also want to consider adding some lesser known, but just as beautiful, blue flowers, such as the Rozanne Geranium, the Bluestar, and Brunnera.
One of the Best Types of Blue Flowers: Aster
Ask For: Aster selections
Balloon Flower
The balloon flower is an easy-to-grow perennial that features puffy, balloon-shape buds that come in shades of blue, pink, or white. You'll get several weeks of beautiful blooms in the summer if you plant it in well-drained soil with full sun. It will grow up to two feet tall and one-foot wide.Ask For: Platycodon Grandifloras
Bell flower
The perfect blue flower for your summer cottage has to be the bellflower. These starry or bell-shaped flowers come in a variety of colors, including blue, violet, pink, or white. The long-stemmed varieties make great cut flowers. This wonderful flower enjoys full sun a little shade with moist soil. Depending on the type, this plant will grow up to three feet tall and two feet wide.Ask For: Campanula selections
Tip: For some pretty ground cover, try a dwarf type, such as “Pearl Deep Blue.”
Blue Hydrangea
This is a big, sky blue hydrangea that is absolutely stunning. The big-leaf variety can be reluctant bloomers, so you might not see the best results until the second year.
To ensure maximum buds, prune them right after they finish flowering. The best growing conditions for this flower include moist, well-drained soil, morning sun and afternoon shade. Under ideal conditions, this flower will grow up to sevenfeet tall and seven feet wide.
Ask For: Hydrangea macrophylla selections
Tip: To get your hydrangeas to turn a beautiful sky blue, increase the acidity of the soil by adding soil sulfur.
Bluestar
Bluestar, though not as well-known as many flowers, can give you some fantastic blue hues in the garden. It produces little clusters of clear blue flowers in late spring.It's also heat, drought, deer, and rabbit resistant. And as a bonus, its foliage turns a very pretty shade of yellow at the end of the growing season. This little gem enjoys full sun or part shadeand well-drained soil. It will grow up to two feet tall and two feet wide.
Ask For: Amsoniatabernaemontana
Brunnera
This lesser known shade plant is one of the most beautiful types of blue flowers that will produce wonderful sprays of pale blue flowers in spring. While some of its heart-shaped leaves can seem a little plain, there are much more interesting variegated selections you can plant. “Jack Frost,” which features a splash of silver coloring on the blue petals, is avery popular variety.This wonderful flower likes shade and prefers moist, well-drained soil. Optimal conditions will produce a plant that is two feet tall and two feet wide.
Ask For: Brunneramacrophylla
Clematis
The very popular Clematis comes in a variety of colors, and you can even them in several different shades of blue. Varieties such as “Ice Blue,” “Crystal Fountain” and “Arabella” offer some of the most amazing blues. These plants enjoy full and moist, well-drained soil. Most varieties can climb to about 12 feet, but some can grow as tall as 25 feet.Ask For: Clematis selections
Tip: Because they are vines, they should be grown on a trellis or in a small tree.
Did you know?
A blue flower symbolizes hope and the beauty of things. It also evokes feelings of desire, love, and the need to achieve the unreachable.
Delphinium
For some of the most amazing blues, delphiniums are perfect for your garden. Although these plants can be a little fussy in some climates, many fans of a truly blue garden feel they are more than worth the effort.The taller they get, the more reinforcement they might need, so it's a good idea to plant them with stakes so they don't blow over in areas that see a lot of wind. They like to grow in moist soil that's rich in organic matter with full sun to part shade. Healthy plants will grow up to six feet tall and one one-foot wide.
Ask For: Delphinium selections
Tip: In poor soil, use a good all-purpose fertilizer to keep that blue shining through.
Grape Hyacinth
This flower will produce beautiful clusters of blue flowers mid-spring. To add an extra splash of color, try to find varieties that bear purple, white, or yellow flowers. This plant enjoys sun and some shade, as well as well-drained soil. They grow to about eight inches tall and three inches wide.Ask For: Muscari selections
Lead Plant
If you'd like to cover your garden floor in wonderful shades of blue, try the lead plant. It grows very aggressively and will fill your garden with sky-blue flowers and beautiful redfoliage at the end of the season. Though it blooms better with some sunshine, this hardy little plant will also produce lovely blooms in the shade. In well-drained soil, lead plant will grow up to a foot tall and two feet wide.Ask For: Ceratostigmaplumbaginoides
Morning Glory
This proliferate plant is actually considered to be one of the most common garden flower. For those who enjoy lots of color, the traditional morning glory is a wonderfully hardy plant that will produce beautiful sky-blue flowers. Other varieties will produce bright pink, deep red, passionate purple, and pure white flowers. Though this vigorous vine is very easy to grow, they can sometimes take a few months before they start producing flowers. If you plant them in the full sun and soil that drains well, they can climb higher than 12 feet.Ask For: Ipomoea tricolor
Tip: Full sun and the right amount of fertilizer will get them to flower faster.
Perennial Geranium
There are many beautiful, perennial blue flowers, but “Rozanne” is truly spectacular flower. This wonderful plant will bloom from early June all the way until the first frost, and will provide you with a bounty of violet-blue flowers. The best growing conditions feature full sun or a little shade, and moist soil, well-drained soil. With the right conditions, this blue flower will grow to be two feet tall and three feet wide.Ask For: Rozanne Geranium Gerwat
Salvia
For those of you living in regions that experience a lot of heat and very little water, the Salvia is the perfect plant. It's also an excellent plant if you want to keep the rabbits and deer at bay. Plant this blue beauty in the full sun in soil that drains well. A healthy plant will grow up to five feet tall and five feet wide.Ask For: Salvia selections
Tip: The most common variety produces a deep-blue flower, but for a more violet colour, try the “May Night” or “Blue Mound” varieties.
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Colors |
|---|---|---|
| Balloon Flower | Platycodon grandifloras | Pink, white, blue |
| Brunnera | Brunneramacrophylla | Blue, pink |
| Hyacinth | Hyacinthus | Pink, white, purple, blue |
| Morning Glory | Ipomoea tricolor | Pink, red, purple, white |
| Salvia | Salvia divinorum | Blue, purple |
| Perennial Geranium | Geranium | Blue, pink, white |
| Lead Plant | Ceratostigmaplumbaginoides | Blue |
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