My Favorite Blue In the Garden...What's Yours?

So far the pots are still carrying the day, but one of the remaining flower stalks on the the D Belladonna opened-- now that is true blue!

Still waiting for more blooms from the others... I wonder how it's all going to look together?! I've been seeing buds, expect flowers any day, but it seems to be taking forever! Also, the plan is to fill in between the Blue and the tall grasses with more daylilies and other brights, but that will have to wait until fall.

I got a treasure trove of iris from DD, quite a wonderful selection, but sadly only 1 blue. Most are in the yellow/white/apricot range, with a pink and a violet thrown into the mix. Lovely, will brighten things up a lot next spring, but I'm still in the market for lots of blues...

Meanwhile we're having another heat wave, in the 90's, and no rain in sight for the week. I finally switched over from soaker hoses to low-volume irrigation, much more efficient. I had the stuff and meant to do it much earlier, but I got soooo behind... The sprayers are the quickest to install and easiest to monitor IMO. I have emitter soaker hoses in some areas, where there are mostly shrubs or very established plants, but in the newly planted areas I feel better seeing exactly where the water is going. I can make sure the pots get it, too, without having to do each one individually.

Pic 4: Dianthus Loveliness, the only one to bloom so far.

Pic 5: Ceratotheca Triloba, South African Foxglove and friend

Looks great Pam...and remember more Iris are coming your way!!!! I can't remember if that African Foxglove is a perenn?

I just looked it up: it's an annual, but a good seeder, also easy to wintersow. Your Hesperis Matronalis seeds should be ripe soon, I'm saving some clumps I know are white, will keep those seeds separate. Yummy, more iris, and I know you have some great blue combos!

I've decided the trellis looks too bare, there won't be anything much going on there for ages, and I'm impatient (maybe y'all have figured that out already?). I have 2 Clematis Veronica's Choice, one on each side. I'm thinking to put them together on the near side in the pics above, where one has climbed very nicely, moving the one that flowered in June and is still quite short to join it. Then, on the far side, I'd put the Jackmanii which is blooming in a pot now. It won't swamp the other two, it will go to the top and maybe cascade some, but they'll have one whole side to themselves for their roots and first bloom, and hopefully the flowers will surface when the time comes for the second flush. I already have plenty of purple tones in the bed, the Clems are up high enough not to take away from the blues below... At least that's my theory... Any thoughts out there? Would love opinions- Does it sound good, or like a mistake? :-)

1 VC bloom
2 Jackmanii bloom

Did you remember to plant your Clems. extra deep? Pick off an extra set of leaves and bury the nodes below ground to give extra branching, I know it means digging a bit deeper but is best.... And the theory is to cut them back the first time planting to help establish the plant sooner and gives an extra boost... I know most have a hard time doing that cuz they wanna see their flowers, but is worth it in the long run. And instead of having 1 or 2 stems you will have 2-4 stems...more stems= more flowers! And if the plant would by chance get damaged on top (above ground) you have very little risk of loosing the whole thing if there are other stems to take over. I'm tellin ya, I read too much... I've planted all mine this way for years. Are you using Jackmanii or Jackmanii Superba? The later puts out more flowers. And are you still back and forth weekly-ish?

Ok, you can wait til the end of flower bloom to cut back, lol.... It will make it stronger tho. I have one in the border, not sure which, a stupid four legger has been prunning it for me almost weekly now.... Ergh!!!!! And amazingly I have Lill--s this year and Aquile--as. ( just incase they watching this thread....don't wanna give 'em any ideas..lo.) First time in Years!!!!! for bloom on both vaieties, in fact I didn't relize I had that many colors in the Lil--s, got some pix but not at home so have to post later..

Thanks, I do know about planting deep, and manure, compost, 3" at least of mulch... And 1 Tbs of Epsom Salts/gallon water to promote more stems breaking from the crown. And Rose food, but stop feeding when they are ready to bloom or they go by too fast!

Yup, still back an forth, with an occasional longer stay. I finally caught up with the must-be-done-in-the-spring tasks (or deferred them until fall), but still need to edge, mulch, trim here and there, won't stop planting tougher things. It didn't help that an old shoulder injury kicked up a little so I didn't do as much heavy work, and the guy who was supposed to come help me one day couldn't come. Now it's too late and too hot, and by fall I can do it myself.

BTW, I pulled some Magenta Phlox volunteers and potted them up for you...

Thanks...soo pretty!!

I use Rootblast to encourage that, but can rarely make myself sacrifice flowers!

LOL....I know it's hard.. Just remembered I haven't seen my Gentians this year, will have to look for them..

Btw, my Cephalaria is toast... It's not a tragedy, I'm still not sure where to put it. How's yours?

I think mine bit the dust too. But I did get a few babies from my friend who has them in his garden, they were small seedlings he dug in June for me and got potted up, so far they are still hanging in there and hope to get them in the ground in the next few weeks. Let's hope they make it so I can share too.

I've very much enjoyed this discussion of blue flowers! I have also promised several of you seeds of Nigella (Love-in-a-Mist). I have lots of seed so any of you that want it can have it - just d-mail me your address and I'll send them to you. They are very easy to grow. Just throw the seed where you want the flowers.

Kathy, I know what you mean about how it's not easy to cut back the Clems when ya first plant 'em... wanna see those lovely blooms!! But, when I first planted mine last year, I cut 'em back HARD. This year I had... I dunno, a million or so branches with blooms smothering all over their back-drops, they turned out so nice!! I don't think they're planted very deeply though, they're in a sort of "corner planter box thingy" with a trellis at the back, and the "pot" part at the bottom is not very deep. I think, when they get cut back this fall (Fall is the time to cut them back, right??), I'll top off the soil a bit with some compost.

Oh, and about your Jackmanii... how's about something white in between them and the blues that you've got lower down? That might cut down on the 'competition' with the blues below. Maybe yes? Or perhaps a pale pink instead of white?

I think pale pink would look fantastic!

Veronica's Choice is a fluffy double pale pinky lavender, that should do it.

For branching, I plant the roots deeply on an angle, mulch heavily, and water with 1Tbs Epsom Salts per gallon of water regularly in the spring. All this I learned on the Clematis forum, there are some very knowledgable and experienced posters there.

Ooh, that Nigella is such a gorgeous color! I know Nigella doesnt last the whole season and can be succession planted, how late in the season can it be sown?

Here's another pic

I don't know just how late you can plant them. I can tell you that with deadheading you can keep them blooming well into August. I did it once for a friend who wanted blue flowers for her wedding. I will plant some seeds tomorrow and see what happens

speediebean, It depends on the variety. There are three pruning methods depending on whether you have a A,B, or C (or 1, 2 or 3), but most pruning can and should be done in early spring. All are according to bloom time. Those that bloom in the early spring usually only get a few cuts back to a leaf node. Those that are summer bloomers get a trim back to live wood (12-18"). And those that bloom in the fall can handle a bit more of a haircut, to within a foot or so of the ground. Cleanup on clems is usually a spring job because of possible die back of stems, hence cutting back to the first node of live wood where the buds begin to swell. So the key is to (if the name is known look up by the named variety, if the tag has been lost, determine bloom time by allowing natural bloom cycle and then rules of cleanup cycle thereafter). Hope I got that right, if not please correct me...I don't have my clem book handy.

rtreets...d-mail comming...

Pix, Eisenhower Tunnel and surrounding scenery, (tunnel is 1 mile long thru the mountain.

Kathy, I have 2 Dr. Ruppels; They bloom mainly in mid-May... then I see a re-flush of more blooms again later near the end of summer, but it's not as profuse as the first flush of spring blooms. So, errr... now I am confused, HA! =)

Dr Ruppel is in Group 2—Early to midseason flowering cultivars and rebloomers
These varieties begin to bloom in early summer, with the first flush of flowers appearing on the previous year's growth. This is followed by a second flush flowers appearing on the new growth. These flowers will likely be smaller than the first ones and flowers that were double the first time may be single the second time.
The time to prune this group is in late winter or early spring. Dead and weak shoots should be removed and the remaining shoots cut back to 6-9 inches above a couple of well-developed buds.

Over-trimming in the spring means no spring show, since they bloom on old wood. For that reason, one clematis site calls this group "don't bother."

Bless your fuzzy heart, thank you for the info P! Hmmmm... I dunno, I think the good Dr. is worth the bother, even after a Fall haircut last year...

He certainly is! Quite beautiful! Sorry that post sounded a bit pedantic, I copied most of it from a website, seemed to say it all better than I could have, lol.

Kathy, gorgeous views! I guess that's why you live there :-)

lol, yup. But I have to confess, they are photo's from my daughter's stash. They have all the mountain scenes... Seems like most of what I do in the mountains these days are the casinos...lol, gotta win that money!!! But I do love being able to share some of our beautiful Colorado scenery, hope you all don't mind. Kathy (it's only when I'm with the gkids that I share their's)

Now here's some of mine:
Just had to share pix, I actually had lillies this year, those four leggers let me enjoy them for the first time in years.
1) brought back this clump to my garden from my daughter's, planted with Nepeta
2) Lily ?
3) Stachys officinalis (blue) and Geum Mrs. Bradshaw
4) this was listed as a yellow tiger but..... anyway is more out faced and not as much spotting
5) Catanche carulea (Cupids Dart) (blue)

Gotta raise more $$$ for more plants?!

Here's a few of mine from this weekend (and one blue to stay on topic!).

1. Cairn and Daylilies

2. Phlox Purple Kiss, rampant ferns. Boy, did they ever love all the water this spring!

3. Longer view

4. Verbascum Chaixii blooming, after a rough start this spring :-)

5. Blue! :-)))))

PFG... Love the stacked rock sculpture. How are they secured?

I love the stacked rocks, too! How did you do it?

Meant to ask what is Cairn? Is that the rock sculpture?

Had hail the other day, phew, leaves a bit ragged but for the most part ok.. and 2 1/2" inches of needed rain.....Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou! But the lilies above are....you know...toast. Lol, glad I got pix when I did.

My friend Kay (of the beautiful iris Jesse's Song) had to go out and stand her corn rows back up. We needed the rain but not the wind. Thankfully only one large tree limb came down and we cut it up and dragged it up the hill and put it out for pick up and they came and took it this morning. Perfect timing. Not so hot today, so I got a little weeding done this morning. I've been out tying strips of plastic to the lilies to identify them. You can write on the plastic with a Sharpie marker. Works great. I just cut up the white walmart grocery bags.

Lol, I use cut up venetian blinds from wallyworld... (W.M.)

Our stone sculpture was built by a lovely guy we met at a local fair. He had several cairns (his word, originally Scottish) on display. We were charmed by them... And him. Since then, besides building our cairn, he's repaired several of our stone walls, built a base for a cement birdbath, and adapted a stone wall to hold a charcoal grill. I have no idea how he secures the stones, so far, so good :-)

Beautiful lilies!! Too bad about the hail...at least you got to see the blooms for a minute first. All the rain went around us. I'm so glad I have my irrigation system in place, at least for the neediest areas. I had the tower going all weekend for anything else that might need a drink.

I find Sharpies fade before the end of the season. I use pencil on vinyl blinds, or for more permanent markers, Ptouch laminated labels on Zinc markers.

Today just as we were leaving, I saw the the first Platycodon bud was nearly open... No time for a pic :-(. But it's sooooo pretty! It should be great by next week! I did get a shot earlier of the Veronica Sunny Border Blue blooming. It's nearly the same color as the Salvia Victoria Blue I bought as filler. You can see the remnants of 2 out of the 3 Delph Bellamosum that I broke while planting them. I'm jcurious to see how much growth they put on this summer, and if they return next year. In the pot is Clematis Arabella (non-vining). I gave a big dose of Electra (fert for blooms) to the Plumbago in the blue pots. Boy, are they stingy!

3: Hydrangea Endless Summer, no blooms last year. If she'd done that again I would have yanked her... But now that she's behaving she can stay:-)

Sharpies faded for me by the end of the season... I use cut up blinds and pencil for temporary tags, they don't fade. Otherwise I've moved on to Ptouch laminated labels on zinc markers.

The stone sculpture was built by a lovely guy we met last year at a local fair. He had several cairns (his word, it's a Scottish ) on display, and we were charmed by them...and him. He has fixed several fallen places in our stone walls, built a base for a cement birdbath, and adapted a stone wall to fit a charcoal grill. I don't know how he secures the stones in place... So far, so good!

Pam, I don't use the wally bags for permanent use, only temporary for those plants that will be dug after blooming. I have wonderful engraved permanent markers. I engrave them on a vintage Green Engraving machine. Triple layer of sign plastic, engraved through the top layer then drilled and wired to the stake with stainless steel wire. Squirrels can't remove them, only vandals.

I love your engraved tags!

You don't find that the Sharpie fades quickly? I forget how long it took, but t I had so many blank tags in my garden! Even the writing from Paint Pens disappeared, but not quite so fast. The pencil ones I can still read after a couple of years. I still have a supply of 'nicer' wooden markers- they not only fade, but rot! So I'm using them up in the veggie garden, where they last until whatever it is comes up and is easily identified.

Pfg -- I don't have the luck with pencil that everyone else seems to have -- do you use a particular type of pencil? Soft lead?

Mittsy -- those tags are gorgeous!

I think so... The pencils saved from when I played bridge are perfect, lol...

I'm jealous...I want mittsy's setup!!!! LOL!!! That's the type of tags they use at the Denver Botanic Gardens...aren't they rather $$$ though? Still, they are NICE!!

About 20yrs ago, I had some engraved tags made (from an ad at the back of a gardening magazine). I was really happy with them, looked so professional. But of course over the years, everything that was so beautifully labeled has died. Still got the tags, of course. I haven't bothered labeling things since then, so often end up with plants whose names I can't remember. Hmmm, seem to be way off topic here! I can't remember whether I ever labeled a blue plant...

If a plant dies, I can peel off the label and re-use the zinc marker... Most of my blue plants are labeled ;-)

I have just been looking over some pictures and I didn't realize how blue (although pale) Amsonia Hubrechtii is. This is one of my all time favorite perennials. Blue blooms in spring, touchably soft foliage all summer on beautifully shaped plants, turns brilliant gold in the fall. All on very long lived plants. The plants you see in the picture are 15 years old and going strong. I cut the dead foliage back in late winter and shear about a third of he plant back after blooming and that is it. I have never given them supplemental water nor fertilized them other than mulch. Plus the milky sap they have makes them one of the most deer resistant plants in my garden. A perfect blue plant!