Feature Article - for release the week of  May 4, 2008

Angela Sachson - FYN Extension Program Assistant 

Cool Blue in the Landscape

The first time I saw Blue Plumbago was in Houston , Texas .  It was such a beautiful shade of blue on a great big flowery stand of bushes. This mid-westerner was amazed.  Many people say blue is their favorite color (in fact, 44% of Americans surveyed favor blue) but not many plan a garden around this color.  Why not?  Well, too few blue plants, not enough contrast, might be boring.  Maybe, but remember, in the 1930’s Vita Sackville-West created the famous all white garden at Sissinghurst castle in England and it has many imitators.

You may want to start small with a blue corner, a blue border, or a blue side yard.  Or just go out and blue your entire landscape, depending on your own combination of bravery/timidity or caution/impulsivity.

There are some great reasons for creating a blue garden.  Blue is a calming color and creates a great garden retreat for reading or relaxing. This is the place for your hammock or lounger.   Cool colors like blue and green tend to make a small garden look larger.

Also, if you stick to one color it is easier to focus on other aspects of garden design such as height, texture, contrast and brightness. No worry about pink ending up next to orange.  And, of course, grouping plants according to their needs for moisture and sunlight—right plant-right place.

Now, about the negatives, i.e.  too few blue plants, not enough contrast and the potential to be boring.  We can consider some of the many blue flowering plants for South Florida below.  In the meantime, boredom and lack of contrast are addressed by making sure the garden contains lots of variety in terms of shades of blue and intensity of color.  Blue plants come in colors from almost white to deep blue and some blue flowers pop out at you from their garden spot while others are more subdued.  The addition of some silvery foliage such as lambs ear and Artemisia can also provide some variety.  And include some interesting textures to move the eye from place to place—ornamental grass and spiky sansevarias come to mind.

Plumbago Photo: Texas A&M

Vitex.  Photo: Texas A&M

Blue Daze  Photo  Missouri Botanical Garden

Morning Glory. Photo: Dan Culbert

Here are some great blue plants that thrive in South Florida :

I conducted an informal survey of gardening friends, asking them to name their favorite blue flower.  They all named Plumbago.  Plumbago is a beautiful shade of periwinkle blue.  It can be a large shrub if supported, and  it can be kept trimmed as a tall ground cover.  It blooms all year on new growth but grows quickly enough that cutting does not interfere.  It grows in full sun, is drought tolerant and attracts butterflies. There is a dwarf available now and I have heard that there is a new brighter variety. There is also a white Plumbago variety.

An old-fashioned small tree which is coming back into favor is the Vitex, or Chaste Tree which loves our climate, grows to ten to 20 feet, and wants full sun and good drainage.   The flowers look a lot like buddleia or butterfly bush.  You can trim the Vitex to tree form or allow it to bush. 

And speaking of Butterfly Bush - Buddleia, there are several blue cultivars of this plant which can grow as tall as ten feet.  Now there is a dwarf blue Buddleia also.  Drought tolerant once established it is hardy from zones 5 to 10.  It is a full-sun plant but might benefit from some afternoon shade in our hot climate.

Often seen in nurseries in our area, Blue Daze is a mounding ground cover with pretty blue daisy like flowers all year round.  My experience with blue daze is that it can use some afternoon shade during the summer and will also tolerate partial shade.  It grows about one foot tall and about two to three feet wide.  Great for a border!

Morning Glory or Ipomoea is a vine with bright blue flowers.  Easily propagated from seed and they also re-seed.  Mine have been coming back pretty regularly—re-appearing just when I have forgotten about them.  Nice Surprise! They thrive in full sun and enjoy neglect.

The largest group of blue flowers belongs to the Salvia or Sage family.  They are beautiful massed and there is a variety for every spot and in every shade of blue.  Some are even two-tone blue and white or blue and black. Salvia is a tender perennial and can be grown from seeds or sets.  Heat, sun, and drought tolerant salvia is a beautiful garden work horse. Here are just a few for our zone.   Arizonica  grows to 24 inches,  azurea to over 48, cacaliifolia  to 36, clevelandii , 24 guaraniti is blue and black and reaches 48+ inches and  leucantha blue and white grows 36inches tall.  A shorter salvia is sinaloaensis which is deep blue and 12 inches tall.

There are many more blue plants including chicory, larkspur (for shade), blue flax, bluebonnet, agapanthus, hibiscus, blue-eyed grass, and bluebells.  A quick internet search will supply additional suggestions.

I hope you will plant some blues.  Also add some blue accents.  A can of spray paint can produce a lot of blue pots or an old blue chair.  And, when you need a change, try red plants and paint!

I’ve placed more information on our Okeechobee web page, http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu.  If you need additional information on blue flowers, please email us at okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu or call us at 863-763-6469.  Local residents can stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North in Okeechobee, and visit our Okeechobee County Master Gardeners from 1 to 3 PM on Tuesday afternoons.  GO GATORS!     

-30-

Trade  names, where used, are given for the purpose of providing specific information. They do not constitute an endorsement or guarantee of products named, nor does it imply criticism of products not named. The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin.  Florida Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS / University of Florida.  Larry A.  Arrington, Dean. Last update: 05/02/2008.  This page is maintained by Dan Culbert