It's time for blue flowers again, so get out those cameras, everybody, and start taking pictures as soon as yours bloom.
I should warn everyone that I'll be a shameless cheat in this thread as usual, not confining myself to perennials, but also throwing in annuals and bulbs and whatever else looks blue enough.
This one is a double Primula vulgaris. I lost the name tags of most of my Primulas long ago, so that's as close as I can get to the identification.
This is Lithodora Grace Ward.
This one's Lithodora Heavenly Blue:
This is Cerinthe major purpurescens. Such a peculiar shape. It's only an annual, but it reseeds like crazy, so it's even more permanent than a perennial.
This one is Omphalodes Starry Eyes.
This is a Pulmonaria. The violet-colored one behind it is another Omphalodes: Cherry Ingram. Not blue enough for this thread, but pretty enough anyway.
This is Scilla Peruviana, a bulb:
Some variety of Tradescantia:
Corydalis and Forget-me-nots.
Brunnera macrophylla:
Bluebells, more properly known as English Hyacinth, I think.
Tibouchina:
Nemophilia menziesii:
Gentiana, surely the bluest of the blues.
Another double Primula:
A single Primula:
Another double:
And another single, in an oddly faded-looking shade of blue:
ZuZu,
Your blue flowers are beautiful. Not sure if this ajuga would be considered a "blue flower" but it really looks blue. This is how it looked last week before we got bit by the weekend freeze.
So happy to see the "return of the blues" lol! Zuzu, your primula are stunning! I'm on a mission now to find blue primula that will withstand our summer heat. I love all of them, from the deepest blue double to the faded blue, which reminds me of faded denim.
Here's my favorite blue--might even give Gentian a run for it's money on the bluest blue!
Anagallis monelli:
I saw these last week at Longwood Gardens. The tag says "Longwood Hybrid Cineraria Pericallis x hybrida Daisy Family" They weren't selling seeds in the gift shop, I checked. In the picture you can see that some is much bluer than the rest.
Pretty Ajuga, Agebhart. It's blue enough for me. Sorry about your weekend freeze.
Neal, mine melt away in summer, even in deep shade, and they don't reappear until the weather turns cold again. I agree with the denim comparison. That one looks like old denim, and the single that's two above that one looks like new denim.
Claypa, I love Cineraria. It doesn't last well up here. Too hot. I used to grow tons of it in San Francisco. It loved the fog.
Ecrane, that's one of my favorite blues too. Have you ever grown the wildcat variety -- orange with a blue center? I was at Annie's Annuals yesterday and wanted to get some Anagallis, but the ones they had were too young and tiny to buy, so I'll have to wait and go back in a few weeks. I did get some really cool other blues, though -- Primula capitata, Phacelia, and some others.
Here's another Lithodora. This one's the Star variety. I had to hunt all over the Web for it a couple of years ago, but now it's available everywhere, even at Long's drugstore.
Dutch iris -- Delft Blue:
The blue blooms in this photo are Heliophila longifolia:
I did try the Anagallis wildcat one year, it didn't thrive nearly the way A. monelli does for me, I had them planted right next to each other and A. monelli did great as usual and Wildcat barely flowered and then died on me. Could have just been some random thing (like my gopher chewed its roots off), but I haven't tried it again since then.
And it's good to know that Annie's Anagallis are too small right now--I need some more and was planning on heading up there soon to get some, but maybe I'll hold off a couple weeks.
Wait a few weeks and you can meet us (Begoniacrazii, Kell, and me) there. We're loads of fun.
Here's another Omphalodes. This is O. verna.
Oops, sorry. Too much of a closeup to see what it looks like. Here's a better picture of it.
These might not look that blue, but they're rhododendrons, so they're quite blue for that family:
This is Bob's Blue:
This is Bluebird:
And this is Blue Fantasy:
Love those blue rhodies! I've never seen those before--they're really gorgeous!
Thanks, Ecrane. They're all from Sonoma Horticultural Nursery. The owner and I went through his database a couple of years ago, looking for any rhodie with "blue" in its name. I bought about a dozen different ones that day.
I may have to wander up there and get some then! Unfortunately I don't really have a good place to grow rhodies, most of my yard's a bit on the hot sunny side so I'm not sure they'd be happy. Plus the one (and only) time I've been up to Sonoma Hort I totally got lost among their woods/gardens and had the hardest time finding my way back to the cashier! I guess there's worse places to be lost though...
here we are, another year gone by and another blue thread and i still don't have any true blues in the garden. maybe next year. until then i can sit and drool. thanks, zuzu!
What a beautiful collection. Zuzu, a standing ovation to you and your lovely blues.
Delphinium 'Blue Butterfly'
Pansy 'Clear Blue'
Flax
Such gorgeous blues - I'm turning green!
