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Summer Gardens Sing With Blues
When hot weather hits, bursts of blue keep the garden palette cool and calm
I am a freelance editorial and wedding photographer and Houzz contributor based out of Hershey, PA. Come visit me at 'A Nest for All Seasons' where I write about design, photography and modern garden living!
I am a freelance editorial and wedding photographer and Houzz contributor... More »
Blue is the holy grail of the garden world. It is the magical color of sky and the great unifier of the landscape. Pure blue plantings are sought after and have even been stolen. And gardeners dedicate years to producing a single blue flower.
Don't stop wishing for a true blue rose, but in the meantime, try incorporating brilliant blue hydrangeas, silvery blue dusty miller or delicate, dainty 'Heavenly Blue' morning glories. Below, we honor the blues of the landscape world, from navy and steel to powder and royal. Get inspired to add a little blue to your outdoor spaces this season.
Don't stop wishing for a true blue rose, but in the meantime, try incorporating brilliant blue hydrangeas, silvery blue dusty miller or delicate, dainty 'Heavenly Blue' morning glories. Below, we honor the blues of the landscape world, from navy and steel to powder and royal. Get inspired to add a little blue to your outdoor spaces this season.
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| Hydrangeas are perhaps the most iconic of blue blooms in the summer garden, but can require a bit of work and a lot of time to produce. It can take up to three years to get your macrophylla hydrangea blossoms to turn blue. |
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| How does it work? First things first, start with a hydrangea that actually has the capacity to bloom in blue. White-blooming hydrangeas, such as 'Annabelle', will never turn blue, no matter how acidic the soil. You need a blue/pink variety such as 'Nikko Blue'. After planting the correct hydrangea, condition the soil around the plant to be very acidic. You can add aluminum sulfate or try the natural route with massive amounts of coffee grounds and pine needles. Water well and watch as the blooms on your hydrangea slowly turn a brilliant blue. |
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| Or, if you prefer, skip all the work and enjoy pinkish purple blooms in your everyday alkaline soil. |
| From the massive blooms of hydrangea to the diminutive blues of 'Blue Star Creeper' (Laurentia), this hue brings a sense of calm to the garden. Using blue creeper as a blanket amid larger upright plants hammers home a sense of peaceful, calm waters. |
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by Habitat Design
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| Try adding boulders and pops of red to contrast with a lake of blue. |
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| Blue appears most often in the garden through foliage. Here, steel-tone blue fescue breaks up a lake of green, adding interest with its puffy little mounds of stiff grasses. |
| Various sedums and other succulents also offer blue foliage and stems for the garden. These euphorbias are fabulous design plants because they put out new lime-green growth every spring for a brilliant contrast with the blue-hued stems. Careful, though: Many spurges can irritate the skin (akin to poison ivy) and can be toxic if ingested. Keep the kids away from this one by planting it in the rear section of your garden bed. |
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| For blue foliage with a little texture, try the traditional Dusty Miller (pictured) or fuzzy-leafed lamb's ear (Stachys byzantina). |
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| Some plants pack a double whammy with blue-tinted foliage and little blue flowers. One of my favorites is brunnera, a blue-tinged shade plant (center). |
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by Pam Bycraft
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| Another great option for standout blue blooms is the classic Texas Mountain Laurel. |
| No need to keep blue low to the ground — let it scale the walls by planting a climber such as morning glory or clematis. Morning glories self-seed and will return year after year, and clematis is another perennial. |
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| My favorite is the 'Heavenly Blue' morning glory, a soft and delicate heirloom variety. Find inexpensive 'Heavenly Blue' seeds on eBay or ask your neighbors for some from their gardens. |
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Whether it's iris or hydrangea, foliage or flowers, bright and bold or quiet and soft, there is a blue for you. Take a look outside today and determine which areas of your garden beg for a little blue.
Want more? Check out these great blue design plants:
Blue Chalk Sticks
Sea Holly
Plumbago
Want more? Check out these great blue design plants:
Blue Chalk Sticks
Sea Holly
Plumbago
Ideabook published on July 6, 2012.
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I planted a Himalayan blue poppy in a corner of my garden last year and was so excited to have it bloom for me this year! Such a pretty shade of blue.....