Blue



I wonder if it's possible to have too much blue in the garden?

Borage, Borago officinalis is a true blue, anyone for Pimms?

I have it growing amongst pink Japanese anemones but may have to pull a few as it's vigorous and threatening to swamp them.



The first blooms of Cape Leadwort, Plumbago auriculata. I've seen this growing all over the south of France, huge specimens cascading over rock walls down in Provence, it just sings 'Summer' to me.



Geranium 'Jolly Bee'. Proven Winners describe it as having a 'Superior mounding habit compared to Rozanne'. I really don't know about that, but beautiful it is all the same and promises to bloom until Autumn.




Geranium 'Johnson's Blue'. Although it has a shorter flowering period than some, I think the colour is incomparable. I'm going to cut it back hard when the flowers have gone over, give it a feed and see if it'll bloom again by September.



Ground morning glory, Convolvulus mauritanicus. I love this plant, a real doer. It positively welcomes this current ninety degree heat, flowering unswervingly in the sun until dusk when the
the little saucer shaped flowers recoil into tight little cones, characteristic of all convolvulus.



Wildflower 'Vipers bugloss', Echium vulgare seeds itself around here and there. I'm quite happy for it to appear under the kitchen window as shown above.



Campanula muralis blooms profusely through June and then fits and starts through the rest of the season. It seems happy in sun or shade and spreads readily.



Hosta 'Wide brim'. In all honesty perhaps not the prettiest blue, really grown for its foliage but there it is, all the same. Behind are 'touch me nots' or Indian balsalm which although volunteer a bit too readily I find easy to pull, so any unwanted seedlings are swiftly gone.



Nepeta 'Walkers low'. I reckon catmint is possibly the most versatile perennial. It's hard to make a mistake with it.



Clematis Jackmanii. Ok, not really blue, purple in reality but still, a wonderful colour.

"Earth laughs in Flowers"

Ralph Wardo Emerson.

Comments

  1. I don't think there can be too much blue in the garden. I love it and your photos are great. For some reason, I've never been able to grow hardy geraniums. I've tried several times and they always die on me.

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    1. Yes sigh, hardy geraniums well most perenials don't like out tropical summers here in Hong Kong where I garden now either. Blue is a rarity. I get a few weeks using campanulas sold as pot plants, last about as long as cut flowers do.

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  2. Hi Rob! The answer is no. You can't have too much blue in the garden! Especially if it's 90 degrees. The blue is cool! You showed some interesting blues/lavenders/purples.I think they all are great bloomers. Stay cool there!

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  3. Good Morning from Georgia. I love your blog and check on it everyday.
    So happy to see your new post this morning. The variety of plants in your garden is wonderful. Thanks for the inspiritation.

    Carra

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  4. Today, I too ravish about the Blue in the garden:-)
    Nope, don't think it's possible to have too much bleu:-))

    Have a nice evening, H.

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  5. You can never have too much blue. You are so right about the catmint-I love that and even though I plant it in the wrong spots (think shade) it shines. Lovely blues!

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  6. I just love blue in the garden, I particularly like your Geranium 'Johnson's Blue', I must see if I can find that, it is lovely. Diane

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  7. How gorgeous. I love that campanula, it's even happy here in Brooklyn. And the plumbago sings Cape Town summer to me :-)

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  8. You have some lovely photos of blue flowers. Some blue gets added to all of my garden beds. I grow both the Johnson' Blue and Rozanne Geranium and have been meaning to try Jolly Bee for comparison. Your Johnson's Blue looks great against the green background. The colour really pops. You have to love Campanula for their beautiful blooms.

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  9. Oh my goodness - you actually enjoy the borage??? It was the biggest mistake I ever made in my garden. By chance I've just published yet another post lamenting it ...

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  10. You can never have too much blue in the garden and you have some absolute beauties there Rob. Mine is with ice and a slice please :)

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  11. No, I don't think so! The more blue the better:) I just LOVE your beautiful pictures!
    Charlotta
    Cesars trädgård

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  12. Never enough blue is my vote. I love it, as you well know. Blu oom is my favorite color in blooms.

    Those morning glories...hard to find here, but when I do each spring, they are my cherished babies.

    Hoping you get some respite from the heat.

    Jen

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  13. You've got the great blues and so many in bloom at once. I've been collecting blue flax seeds --the plants are STILL blooming and producing seeds, too. Amazing little things. I was wishing I could send you some seeds, but the USDA and probably the French customs would probably slap a big fine on me!

    Is it as hot in the Dordogne as in Paris? Heard it was 31C there.

    We're talking about our next trip. Pondering the time/possibility of Paris to Loire to Sarlat next year. So far, just dreaming while we swim in the pool to stay cool.

    It was 100F today. We stayed in the pool from 10:00 until 16:00.

    Cameron

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  14. Your blues are spectacular, and no, I don't think I'd ever tire of blue in the garden. :) It's a colour that always seems to 'pop' against its background. Yours are lovely.

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  15. I don't think there can be too much of any color, actually. The blues are beautiful.

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  16. No you can never have too many blues. Love the Borage and the Geranium's. All your plants look great Rob. We could do with some rain.

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  17. Beautiful! I love blue. Love gardening and flowers. More flowers, the better. I used to design gardens and i just love color.
    Xo
    Frenchy

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  18. A visit to your garden always delights, Rob, but this showing of blue brought sighs and ooohs, even from the lazyboy. I am spellbound by the wall of Erigeron k., having a few successful seedlings of the plant, the perfect wall spiller. Must get some plumbago, that blue is perfection. We too have trouble with the geraniums, like Phillip, except for G. sanguineum, sad to say.
    Frances

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  19. It's just not possible to have too much blue in the garden, with the exception of blue tarps in the garden, which have reached plague proportions here.

    I thought I read somewhere that Jolly Bee and Rozanne were the same plant and there was some patent infringement...maybe I'm thinking of the wrong plant?

    I grow 'Johnson's Blue' and love it's blue blossoms with variegated foxtail grass (Alopecurus).

    Christine in Alaska

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  20. Rob, never too many blues in the garden. Borago officinalis, Convolvulus mauritanicus, Clematis Jackmanii, and Geranium 'Johnson's Blue are all in the garden; the latter blooms here almost non-stop May through July. Salvia patens is one of my all time favourites as is Campanula lactiflora 'Pritchard's Variety' and C. latifolia 'Brantwood'. Deep blue delphiniums, nepeta, the Queen of Herbs true Lavender... cannot image any of them not being here.

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  21. Yes I love blue in the garden but not Borage, I rue the day I added borage to my herb bed some 25 years ago and still I mix the seedlings up with foxgloves until they get deep rooted and difficult to remove. Just as I thought I was winning I found my neighbours garden had started to produce them and as she is no gardener they are once again spreading back into mine and the battle commences once more.

    I think Delphiniums are my favourite blue flowers but that could just be they are the flower of the moment right now.

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  22. Good to be reminded of the little blue convolvulus, which I haven't grown in years but is such a good plant. I noticed the little erigeron seeded into your wall, what we call the Santa Barbara daisy. I saw some over the weekend seeded high up into a stone arch. For blue I'm enjoying catananche this year -- bet it would look great against your stone walls.

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  23. You can never have too much blue! Carla

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  24. I agree, never too much blue! I've heard about 'Jolly Bee' and it's one I would love to add to my garden. The ground Morning Glory is also really pretty. Well, everything looks pretty in your garden!

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  25. Blue is my favorite garden color. You have some beautiful blues! And I think you can never have too much of them!

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  26. My husband would love to see all of that blue in the garden. I'm working on it, but I can't always find it. Around here people choose more vibrant colors, perhaps because of the heat and humidity? We too have been getting 93+ heat, humidity, but no rain. Well, there is always next year! In the meantime I can keep looking at your beautiful blog!!
    Ulrike

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  27. Rob, what glorious blues! I desperately miss plumbago and blue-violet agapanthus from our time in California. Neither is hardy here.
    And I've been worrying that my last comment about adventurous French chefs came out a little too tart. Sorry if that was offensive. Teasing via comment is trickier than in person, when you can soften the words with a wink and a chuckle. Honestly, I'm super grateful for the French influence on cooking around here. I look forward to someday visiting and tasting French cuisine in person.

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  28. Excellent blog and visually breathtaking

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  29. Bring on the blue - your geraniums are gorgeous. Ive just planted geranium brookside and that looks quite similar. I love the cooling effect of the colours - great pictures:)

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  30. I'm with Sue Swift on Borage. Planted a single plant. Three years later still pulling unwanted seedlings (prickly little beggars too!)

    But I do love blue in gardens.

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  31. No - you can never have too much blue (or purple, come to that!)

    I thought it was warm up here, but 90*!!!! stay under the pergola Rob - you can always admire your garden from a distance like the rest of us do! :D

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  32. Hola Rob, such a beautiful place is your garden at this time, completely awesome!!!! I have loved the pergola you made, just the kind I can make here, if you don`t mind I would take this idea into the hill!!!!!
    Your roses are such beauties... and the poppies, not yet??
    cariños,
    maria cecilia

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  33. Chris from Washington state~US13 July 2010 at 20:42

    I love borage although believe it or not, I cannot get it to flourish in my garden. What does it like...or not like? Have you seen the blue Himalayan poppy? Gorgeous!Never too much cool blue! Do you have more photos of your house? I love the stonework, so beautiful!

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  34. I love all of the blues in your garden. They're gorgeous, and look especially wonderful next to the warm-colored stone.

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  35. How lovely and soothing for the eye ... never too much blue, Rob!

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  36. We love Plumbago, I have it in both blue and white. Can't beat them for summer color!

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  37. I can't believe what I see: your house in france is a paradise!!!
    Your garden is wonderful and I admire your work...
    I'm french, my name is sophie and I live near Reims, in Champagne ardennes...Gardening is my passion too..
    Vous êtes des gens formidables!!!
    A très bientôt..
    Sophie

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  38. Not possible to have too much blue ever! Best foil for other bright colours going. I particularily love the Convolvulus. I was wondering how well this one did in pots as the ones I've seen are quite rampantly spreading with very strong deep root systems, rooting at the nodes along each stem. Also how to trim it? Someone trimmed one back heavily, growing on a wall and I noticed it died? Little and often maybe? Not into old growth?

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  39. Campanula muralis is another fav of mine. In full force it's quite remarkable. I think the SHADE part needs emphasising a bit more (: nothing else will put on quite such a startling and stunning show of sudden flower power and colour in the shade as this one. Turning those damp mossy shady corners/walls into highly precious areas of wow. I found it needs replacing after a few years not sure unless I was doing something wrong? Always felt guilty of neglecting it when it died, its such a sudden thing, collapse then not returing next year. I never failed to rush out and get some more, though. Never self seeded for me as much as I wished it would?

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