Blue THE EVENING STAR
Rich blue provides a rare, jewel-box opulence. It’s easy to come by in spring as there are plenty of miniature blue bulbs to choose from and one of the best is Scilla siberica. Its bright green leaves make the cobalt-blue flowers glow and it happily self seeds in shade. Pulmonaria ‘Blue Ensign’ is also a good woodland blue that’s almost navy. It’s also worth planting camassias: these easy-to-grow bulbs offer spires of starry flowers in May. The best blue comes from Camassia leichtlinii Caerulea Group ‘Maybelle’, but all camassias will naturalise in grass, as well as borders. A strong blue is also useful in summer borders and the best comes from hardy geranium ‘Orion’. This flowers from May until early autumn. If you cut it down in July, it will sprout again really quickly and re-bloom six weeks later. It’s a fabulous foil for coral and orange peonies and roses. Equally easy is the summerflowering bulb, Triteleia laxa ‘Queen Fabiola’. This produces deep blue flowers, not dissimilar to agapanthus in form, followed by seedheads. It bulks up well and it’s very hardy, reaching about a foot in height. You could weave it round pale yellow hemerocallis ‘Whichford’ or achillea ‘Moonshine’ for a summery contrast. Aconitums are also invaluable for flecks of blue. ‘Spark’s Variety’ flowers over many weeks in summer and A. carmichaelii ‘Arendsii’ provides self-supporting royal-blue spires in September. One of the key plants for a purple-blue scheme is Salvia nemorosa: cultivars ‘Mainacht’ and ‘Caradonna’ are the designer favourites.