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Gardening Feeling Blue:
Landscaping and Gardening in Blue
 by
J. A. Young
Pinks, reds and yellows couldn’t be more natural in your garden
than say…green! But there is an array of grasses, shrubs, flowers
and plants in various shades of blue that can capture the attention
of your garden’s onlookers and make a dramatic color statement.
Adding blue means adding an unexpected touch to your landscape and
finding that lovely blue foliage is easier than ever.
Lesser periwinkle, also known as creeping myrtle, makes a dense
ground cover that even does well in shade and in dry soil. It will
thrive, though, with some sunshine and any well-drained soil. The
pretty blue flowers are star-shaped and the leaves are a glossy
green.
Blue wheat grass forms clumping metallic blue foliage. Even the
flowers it produces sometime in June are a lovely blue-green. This
ornamental grass thrives in moist, well-drained soil and full
sunshine.
Blue Lyme grass has been a favorite ornamental grass of
gardeners since 1900. This grass grows in nearly any soil with full
sun or light shade. It is also drought-tolerant and has no known
pests making it a solid choice.
Blue fescue takes on various shades of blue and gray. This
evergreen is a cool season plant with soft foliage that works well
as borders or as edging. It thrives in full sun in a moist,
well-drained soil.
Blue oat grass has bright blue foliage that can be planted in
masses, but even makes a dramatic focal point when planted alone.
It is often used in both rock and coastal gardens. It prefers a
fertile soil that is well-drained and full sun.
The blue blossom is a hardy shrub that flowers from late spring
to early summer producing a bounty of medium-blue flower clusters.
Well-drained, fertile soils are best for this lovely evergreen.
Lithodora diffusa “Heavenly Blue” is a hardy evergreen shrub
that produces vivid blue flowers. It is also known as “weed-proof”
for the dense carpet it creates with its slender green leaves. It
thrives in a sunny situation with a humus-rich acid soil.
The Geranium “Johnson’s Blue” is a hardy perennial that flowers
early to late summer and does well in a moist soil. The flowers are
a particularly clear shade of blue and the foliage forms a dense,
weed-proof mass.
The chicory is a hardy perennial that blooms from midsummer to
early autumn. They are a sweet shade of blue; they prefer a
well-drained soil and some sunlight. These flowers are attractive
to bees—especially after the noon hour each day.
The exceptional Tibetan/Himalayan blue poppy produces sky blue
flowers that flower in early summer. They require shelter as well
as a rich soil in order to hold their bloom and to grow their three
to four feet.
Blue cowslip produces royal blue funnel-shaped flowers. Some
shade and a moisture-retentive soil allow this hardy perennial to
thrive and bloom from early to late spring.
Sea holly makes an interesting choice for landscapes because of
its violet-blue color and its conspicuous oddly-shaped flowers. It
is a hardy perennial that blooms from mid to late summer and
prefers a light, well-drained soil.
The water forget-me-not does well in a couple inches of soil,
but also thrives in wet soil or soil that is reasonably moist. This
hardy perennial produces tufts that create carpets of growth.
Although the flowers are small, they are a stunning blue.
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