EASY BLUE & PURPLE SPRING FLOWERS

1 Larkspurs, aka annual delphiniums, self-sow in our gravel paths. They supposedly loathe being transplanted but I haven’t had trouble shifting them. 2 I first sowed the “original” scented sweet pea, Lathyrus odoratus, five years ago. It self-sows in early spring and has divine perfume even if the stems are too short for most vases. 3 Fragrant freesia bulbs. 4 Honeywort, Cerinthe major, is an enthusiastic annual self-seeder but one that’s easily controlled with a hoe. 5 Perennial wallflowers such as Erysimum ‘Bowles’s Mauve’ are underrated, flowering from winter to summer. 6 In 2010, I sowed bee-friendly annual viper’s bugloss ( Echium vulgare) for a $ 20 cut flower project in NZ Gardener. It is still going strong and has colonised our driveway. 7 This Clematis ‘Etoile Violette’ vine winds through an espaliered ‘Granny Smith’ apple in front of our stables. 8 Salvia ‘Amistad’ is winter dormant but puts on rapid growth in spring, with 2m stems of purple flowers in jet black bracts. Cut it back twice during summer. 9 The starry sky-blue blooms of Sisyrinchium ‘Devon Skies’, a 15cm clumping perennial. I wish it would spread, because it’s a fabulous and tidy edging plant. 10 The dusky, double blooms of Aquilegia ‘Black Barlow’, a choice columbine. 11 When I first moved to Hunua, I dreamed of a hillside of wild Russell lupins, like the rainbow-clad roadsides of Central Otago. It was not to be: fungal diseases claimed most of my plants, but a few stragglers still self-sow valiantly each year. 12 Iris sibirica ‘Caesar’s Brother’. 13 Wee blue violas self-sow beside our steps. 14 Be prepared to clip back Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’ or it flops by late summer. 15 Forget-me-nots carpet our woodland areas. 16 Spurless modern aquilegias have much larger flowers than the original coy columbines, plus they hold their heads up proudly. 17 Frilly ‘Tower Double’ aquilegias self-sow true to form. 18 Perennial low-growing catmint, Nepeta × faassenii, is a classic choice for underplanting roses. 19 Annual statice behaves like a perennial in my plot.