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Types of Blue Flowers: Blue Flower Plants for the Garden

DKrunner | Oct 8, 2010 |

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Blue flowers are an excellent highlighting color in both gardens and bouquets. Unlike red and purple flowers that seem to occur in abundance in gardens, blue flower plants are a bit more rare, which makes them all the more eye-catching and visually appealing. Here are some types of blue flowers that are not too hard to come by.

Blue iris flowers
Blue iris flowers are dainty little flowers with an interesting shape and little yellow highlights on the inside of their petals. They are very pretty blue flower plants and are great for the edge of a garden to add a detail of color. Blue iris flowers are bulbs that should be planted in early spring. The exact time that you should plant them will depend on what area of the country that you live in; the temperament of where you live. Typically, these blue flower plants should be planted after the risk of frost has passed.

Cornflower
Cornflowers are cute little frayed blue flowers that spread in abundance if you let them. This last summer I had a whole garden full of these pretty blue flowering plants that were unintentional; they had propagated on their own from a small number of plants from the season before. While these blue plants are not perennial, they seem to have no trouble finding the means to spread widely by the time the next summer comes around. They are dainty blue flowers on the end of a long, slim stalk that grows in bundles. They can grow quiet large; getting to be up to 3 feet tall. They make excellent cut flowers for a blue flower bouquet and dry very nicely.

Lithodora
Lithodora is one of the blue plants that are much shorter and wide spreading, making it an excellent ground cover that adds a wave of brilliant blue to your garden. Lithodora has tiny dark blue flowers; they are so vibrant that they almost look fake. These blue plants are great to plant in front of larger bushes, and work well planted along the edges of a garden. The only downside to Lithodora is that they tend to dry out a bit in really hot weather and quickly do downhill in health if they aren't watered regularly in the high heat.

Blue rose flower
The blue rose flower does not occur naturally, but due to a little genetic tweaking, there is now such a blue plant. The blue rose flower looks like any other rose bush might, but it has a very interesting, nearly blue color flower. Many of the blue roses that you see images of or for sale in the store are not truly blue by nature; in fact, the bluer that the rose is, the less likely that it is actually a true blue rose flower.

My neighbor has a "blue rose bush" and he gave us a couple of buds to enjoy at the beginning of the summer. To be totally honest, I would not have called it a blue rose unless he had introduced it as such! The "blue plant" was more of a soft violet; blue was a stretch, at best. It was still beautiful, however, scientists likely have a few more years of genetic tweaking to do before they will have a blue rose they can truly call blue.

Hydrangea
The hydrangea comes in several different colors, but if you have the right type of soil, it is very much a blue flowering plant. If you have a red hydrangea, you can sometimes turn it into a blue plant by lowering the pH balance of the soil. You can do this by adding aluminum sulfate to the soil. Note: it is much easier to change the color of flowers when the plant is in a pot (less soil to have to control, and in a much more controlled environment). These blue flowers are gorgeous and tend to last a very long time; my hydrangea flowered probably 2 months ago and it's beautiful blue flowers are just now starting to look as if they are feeling a bit tired.

Delphiniums
Delphiniums are flowers that are hard to miss; you have likely seen them on display in your local home improvement garden center. While they are blooming, they totally steal the show from other garden plants. They have a long stalk which bursts open with showy, dark blue flowers. This is a must have for anyone who wants true blue flower plants in their garden.

Lobelia
Lobelia is an easy to tend to low but wide spreading plant that comes in many different colors; one of them with a dark, nearly purple but mostly blue flower. If you are looking for a blue flowering ground cover, this is a good bet for you. It also works very well in hanging baskets as it will drape out over the sides with it's dramatic blue flowering tendrils. These are another plant that are basically easy to grow (these blue seed are cheap an pop up through the soil quickly) however, you will want to keep a close eye on them during dry weather as they dry out quickly when it heats up outside.

Salvia
Salvia is a very interesting blue flowering plant. Salvia is an herb that is actually a very powerful hallucinogenic when inhaled. Aside from the fact that it's a legal hallucinogen, it's also a very striking flower. The body of the sometimes blue plant looks a bit like a basil plant; but it comes off with pretty purple/blue flowers. This sometimes blue plant also comes in red and purple and can be found in nearly any store that has a moderate garden selection.

There's no doubt that blue plants are an excellent addition to both garden layouts and bouquets. The only problem is that plants with blue flowers are still a bit hard to find. Many growers who sell plants with types of blue flowers are not being completely honest when they call the flower "blue". Many times it tends to lean much closer to a violet or dark purple. However, there are some true blues out there, especially those listed above!