Blues from Kathleen’s Garden

I’m Kathleen Shelman, and I’ve gardened on our acre in Corbett, Oregon, for 35 years. I love using blue in my garden, so here’s a sampling of blues throughout the year. I used to be more picky about what I considered a true blue in my color combinations, but now I include anything that’s close.

garden decor made of blue glass bottlesMy bottle bush is surrounded by ferns in summer, but it really shows up in the snow.

blue flowers in springThe very first blue of the spring is an Iris reticulata (maybe the variety ‘Harmony’, Zones 5–9).

outdoor stairs covered in plants with tiny purple flowersGrape hyacinths (Muscari aremeniacum, Zones 4–8) have colonized an old staircase where children once waited to catch the school bus.

mass plantings of blue and yellow flowersNaturalized scilla (Scilla siberica, Zones 3–8) and Anemone blanda (Zones 3–9) contrast with yellow Erythronium oregonum (Zones 5–8).

big purple flowers growing on a vineClematis ‘Multi-blue’ (Zones 4–10) uses a fig tree for support. I typically do not have good luck with the clematis family, so this one was a nice surprise.

group of tall light blue flowersThe pale blue of Gallega officionalis ‘Lady Wilson’ (Zones 5–8) lights up a sea of green.

delicate light purple flowers growing next to larger bright purple flowersA Veronica spicata (Zones 3–8), on the left, is complemented by a very large Campanula (probably Zones 4–8) on the right. Both of these plants have been moved a few times. They were inherited from the previous gardener, Faith Mackaness, so they are at least 40 years old.

small light purple flowers next to large bright orange flowersI love blues/purples with orange, as with this seedling Geranium (Zones 5–8) and Hemerocallis ‘Rajah’ (Zones 3–9).

large shrubs with bright blue flowersIn August, hydrangeas edge what in spring is the bulb garden. Here are Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Tellers Blue’ and ‘Ayesha’ (Zones 5–9).

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Published at Tue, 29 Mar 2022 03:00:54 -0400

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