Blue. It’s calming. It’s the color of the sea and the sky. It’s ice and snow. It’s the eyes of a long lost lover who left you standing in the rain or a bucket of the cleanest, purest crystal me…oh, wrong article. We’ll get back to that later.
Let’s talk about blue for the yard. Blue is my favorite color. My back wall is painted that color. My closet is full of blue shirts. It reminds me of France and the coast. Alas blue plants really don’t work so well here in the desert, but to make up for that most of my containers are blue. Green bounces nicely off a deep blue.
Below are 15 blue or blue flowering plants that I love or have come to love.
Caryopteris clandonensis var. ‘Longwood Blue’
Zone: 5-9
Light: Sun
Plant Type: Perrennial, or small shrub
Size: Up to 4’ tall and almost as wide
Uses: Blue flower spikes with soft grey green leaves. Works well in Mediterranean gardens. Adds a lovely cool tone to a green filled yard.
Fun fact: It is deciduous. For a more formal look, you can shear after blooming ends.
Ceanothus thyrsiflorus var. ‘Victoria’
Zone: 5-9, 14-24
Light: Sun
Plant Type: Large evergreen shrub
Size: Up to 9’ tall, and can get 12’ wide
Uses: Makes a glorious windbreak, an impressive privacy hedge. This is one of my favorite plants to look it. I tried for years to make this happen in New Orleans, and no Gretchen, ceanothus just will not happen there.
Fun fact: Can tolerate sea spray, so it works very well in coastal regions. AND can be used in fire wise gardens for those of you who live in areas where wildfires happen.
Agapanthus inapertus
Zone: 7-10
Light: Sun
Plant Type: Perrennial
Size: Up to 4’ tall and almost as wide with the flower stalks
Uses: The bluest of the blue of the agapanthus, this stunning plant works well in a perennial border, as a border plant, in containers. Just so many uses avaialable. Almost as many uses as there are cultivars.
Fun fact: This is one of my all time favorite garden plants. It’s versatile. It comes in so many shades. It’s a South African native. I loved mixing the plnats up and just letting them bloom as they will with all of the blues and whites just peaking out.
Rosmarinus officinalis
Zone: 6-10
Light: Sun
Plant Type: Shrub
Size: Up to 4-5’ tall and almost as wide.
Uses: Works in a variety of settings. I have seen them used as low hedges. I have seen them used in Mediterranean gardens. I have seen them in containers. You name it it can be done with this lovely plant.
Fun Facts: You can eat this! It’s that rosemary! Bees love it, so if you’re planning a kitchen garden this is a must include to bring pollinators into your yard. And deer hate it, so you’re safe.
Veronica spicata var. ‘Blue Carpet’
Zone: 4-9
Light: Partial to full sun
Plant Type: Perennial
Size: 4-8” tall and up to 12” wide
Uses: Great plant for a perennial border, this low grower has lots of personality. Mass plant them in woodsy setting or for a cottage garden look. Combine with yellows and whites.
Fun Facts: Needs regular watering, and if you shear them back after blooming you may get a second bloom out of them in the Fall.
Perovskia atriplicifolia
Zone: 4-9
Light: Sun
Plant Type: Perennial shrub
Size: Up to 4’ tall and almost as wide.
Uses: This Russian beauty will blow you away with it’s haze like spray of tiny blue flowers. Plant singly or in clusters. Works great as a background plant in a perennial border or as an accent plant. Containers and this plant get along like old dear friends.
Fun Facts: Blooms in summer, so finally you can get some cool toned flowers in the hottest part of the year. It was also named the perennial plant of the year in 1995. Yes, that is a thing. It also pairs well with a nice potato vodka.
Plumbago auriculata
Zone: 4-9
Light: Sun
Plant Type: Shrub
Size: Up to 4’ tall and almost as wide.
Uses: Perfect for mixed borders or as an erosion control plant. Has a long blooming season.
Fun Facts: Group this with tropical plants such as hibiscus, cannas, and gingers for a tropical look.
Aquilegia caerulea
Zone: 3-8
Light: Partial sun to full sun
Plant Type: Perennial
Size: 12-15” tall and almost as wide
Uses: This long blooming perennial brings color and joy. It can be used in rock gardens, in wildflower gardens, and in perennial and cutting borders.
Fun Facts: Hummingbirds love this plant.
Hydrangea macrophylla var. ‘Blue Wave’
Zone: 6-9
Light: Partial sun
Plant Type: Deciduous shrub
Size: 6’ high and almost as wide
Uses: Makes an amazing foundation plant. Works especially well where there’s space to mass plant them.
Fun Facts: My grandmother loved hydrangeas. She had them surrounding her massive house in Birmingham, AL. The blues looked amazing against the warm reds of the brick.
Agave truncata var. parryi
Zone: 6-9
Light: Full sun
Plant Type: Succulent (finally something those of us in SW can use!)
Size: 2-4’ tall and wide
Uses: Bold and architectural accent plant. Can be used in containers.
Fun Facts: When they bloom, the flower spike is almost 15’ tall. I have several in my yard surrounded by black Mexican beach pebbles.
Festuca glauca var. ‘Intense Blue’
Zone: 4-9
Light: Full sun
Plant Type: Grass
Size: 8” tall and wide
Uses: Mass this as a ground cover or use it as a border plant in succulent gardens.
Fun Facts: Deers won’t eat this, and can be used in fire wise gardens.
Vaccinium x var. ‘O’Neal’
Zone: 5-9
Light: Full sun
Plant Type: Shrub
Size: 5’ tall and up to 6’ wide
Uses: BLUEBERRIES. Needs only 400 hours of chill.
Fun Facts: Again, BLUEBERRIES! Think of everything you can make with these.
Yucca rostrata
Zone: 5-11
Light: Full sun
Plant Type: Succulent
Size: 5’ tall and up to 3’ wide
Uses: Amazing accent plant for desert gardens. Looks great in the ground or in a large container. Very modern look.
Fun Facts: Low water use. Tall. Stately. And popular. They can’t keep these in stock here in AZ.
Eryngium x var. ‘Big Blue’
Zone: 4-11
Light: Full sun
Plant Type: Perennial
Size: 2-3’ tall and wide
Uses: This long bloom time perennial works so well in so many venues. Contemporary or modern garden? Check. Mediterranean garden? Check. Rustic Garden? Check? And lets talk about what it can do in perennial borders and in containers? Double check.
Fun Facts: You just need these. Imagine a mass planting of these bad boys next to reds and yellows?
Centaurea montana
Zone: 3-8
Light: Full sun
Plant Type: Perennial
Size: 1-2’ tall and wide
Uses: In meadow gardens.
Fun Facts: Blue flowers in the summer. Everyone wants that.
So, what’d I miss? Anything you, my fair readers, love in a blue that is a must have in your garden?
All of these and more can be ordered as seed, bulbs, or bare root stock by using the Amazon Crasstalk link. If you don’t want to use these maybe go to your local independent garden center? For the most part they will love to help and will have suggestions that you never would have thought of. Here’s a link to a list from 2011 of the top 100 in the US.
Photo Credits: Top Image. Centaurea montana. Eryngium x. ‘Big Blue’. Ceanothus thyrsiflorus. Caryopteris clandonensis ‘Longwood Blue’. Agapanthus inapertus. Rosmarinus officinalis. Veronica spicata. Perovskia atriplicifolia. Plumbago auriculata. Aquilegia caerulea. Hydrangea macrophylla. Agave truncata var. parryi. Festuca glauca ‘Intense Blue’. Vaccinium x. Yucca rostrata