A true-blue garden

Gardens can be created from a wide or limited colour palette. In this article, Rebecca Hughes from Blue Mountain Nurseries shares some options for planting in shades of just one colour – blue

While garden fashions come and go, there are some colour palettes that remain popular and enduring, including plantings in blue, red, white and silver. Blue flowers are quite rare in nature because the true-blue pigments are difficult for plants to produce.

Plants may have evolved to attract pollinators such as bees, which are drawn to blue colours. When creating a blue colour palette for a client, consider not only flowers but berries, bark and leaves. Here are some ideas:

Echinops ritro rut Platinum Blue Deep-blue, ball-shaped flowers put on a display on this Globe Thistle. Ht: 60cm.

Clematis integrifolia Blue Ribbons A dwarf perennial with large, deep-blue flowers that look out from a bushy plant. Ht: 75cm.

Coprosma Flat Fred Spreading native plant with attractive transparent grey/blue berries.

Rhododendron Blue Boy Violet-blue flowers in early November, with a dark blotch. Ht: 1.5m. Evergreen.

Lavandula angustifolia Blue Mountain Blue flowers during summer. Well-drained soil, full sun. Used for hedging, pot pourri, lavende

r bags, cut flowers, dried decorations and lavender oil. Ht: 50cm.

Meconopsis betonicifolia Tibetan Blue Poppy. Striking blue flowers in spring. Plant in cool, moist, free-draining soil of a woodland shaded garden. The south side of buildings is also ideal. Divide and replant in fresh soil every three years. Very hardy to cold and frost. Ht: 1m. Deciduous.

Meconopsis Lingholm Hybrid Blue Poppy. The largest, deep sky-blue poppy. An herbaceous perennial to 1m, ideal for cool, moist, rich, free draining soil in the coolest of gardens or the south side of buildings. Divide and replant in fresh soil every three years. Hardy to frost and cold.

Lobelia siphilitica Blue Spreading native plant with attractive transparent grey/blue berries.

Delphinium grand Blue Pygmy Deep–blue–gentian-coloured flowers on a dwarf, compact plant. Ht: 40cm.

Eucalyptus cordata Silver-blue leaves when young on a fast-growing tree. Ideal for shelter in the garden. Ht: 4m. Evergreen.

Rosmarinus Mozart The deepest blue rosemary, covering itself in flowers in early spring through summer. A great plant for a dry site. Ht: 1m

Myosotidium hortensia Chatham Island forget-me-not. Large heads of blue flowers in late spring. Large, green leaves. Plant in shade. Ht: 40cm. Deciduous.

Wisteria sinensis Blue Sapphire Chinese Wisteria. Blue-tinged mauve flowers on medium racemes. Strong perfume.

Cedrus atlantica glauca Blue Cedar. The conspicuous blue needles make this tree one of the best blue conifers. Hardy. Ht: 5m. Evergreen.

---

Rebecca Hughes has a Botany BSc with Honours and has been National Training Manager for the Horticulture Industry Training Organisation (ITO) and General Manager for the Community Support Services ITO. She is currently co-director of Blue Mountain Nurseries, a family-run wholesale and retail plant nursery established in Tapanui in 1932.