IN THIS guidebook
shrub and bushes are of the essence for adding organic structure and deepness to your garden , while choosing ones with risque blossoms brings a splash of colour to boot .
What is it about low-spirited heyday that make them such a spectacular mass ?
Perhaps it ’s their relative curiosity in comparison to white , yellow , red and purple blossom ; maybe it ’s the cool tranquillity they lend to their surround .
Whatever the reason , blue bloom of youth are quite something to behold and when embellish a bush or shrub , they can bring even more change to your existing display .
Even though blue flowers are less commonplace than some other colouration , there are still plenty of shrubs and bushes bear their picturesque petals to opt from .
Here are ten of our favourite low flowering specimen to provide some inspiration the next time you ’re plan a makeover or tweaking the color outline of your garden arrangements .
1) African Lily
Despite originally acclaim from South Africa , the African Lily(sometimes known as Lily of the Nile ) has been breed to thrive in clime less kindly than its aboriginal terra firma .
Today , the genus positively fly high in Britain , producing clusters of bell - regulate flowers on towering stem that can surpass 1.2 m.
They blossom all summertime long and add together a dramatic down in the mouth focal point to any bed or border .
gratefully , Agapanthus total in three dissimilar categories , allot to their size : small plants , touch a upper limit of 60 atomic number 96 ; medium - sized specimens , which can originate to around 90 cm ; or the gravid varieties cite above , which surpass one metre .
As such , you could choosewhichever species accommodate bestfor the localisation in which you wish to institute it .
As for growing them , African Lilies perform well when drench in sunshine , so imbed them in a due south - front spot of the garden .
They ’ll do well in any rich soil that drain freely , though more vulnerable strains ( A. africanus ) may need transplant indoorsduring the colder months .
2) Bluebeard ‘Heavenly Blue’
‘ celestial Blue ’ is a deciduous bush that will treat you to a spectacular display of dark blue flowers each August and September .
The bloom are stacked intermittently on spindly stems , atop a mass of pale green leaves with pointed crown and redolent foliation .
Come wintertime , the plant will lose all of its finery and wither back into itself , before jump forth with new shoots the next year .
unspoiled of all , Bluebeard is an infrangible attractive feature for bees , butterfly and other pollinating insects .
That makes it an invaluable tool for injecting a dollop of biodiversity into your garden and ensuring it is full of life , colour and activity .
It makes a particularly pleasing increase to a assorted moulding or in amongst a aggregation of other bush .
The cultivar loosely does well in most climates , being a in full hardy bush that ’ll stand up to even the most dramatic drops in the atomic number 80 .
If you do expect temperatures to plump regularly below -5 ° C , lodge it by planting against a south - face wall or fence , and prune and mulch each spring to ensure best results .
3) Buddleja ‘Blue Chip’
talk of butterflies , Buddlejas are n’t bonk colloquiallyas butterfly stroke bushesfor nothing .
This particular cultivar , smaller and more compact than its more sprawling full cousin , pee for a sodding edge plant or can even be cultivated as a blue hedge , give way off an intoxicating fragrance and drawing in countless fluttering wing to please both the deal and the smell .
apart from the wonders that it will process for the diversity of your garden ’s ecosystem , ‘ Blue Chip ’ will also , as the name suggest , bring striking cerulean look to your garden .
The delicately bob stems will be awash with thousands of blue flowerheads throughout the whole summertime long , making it extremely useful as a cut flower , too .
A miniature deciduous bush , ‘ Blue Chip ’ is n’t likely to surpass 30 cm in height , but could double that in width .
It loves the full warmth of the Sunday ’s ray and will do well in almost all ground character , while it ’s also repellent to drought , pest and disease .
Remove spent flowerheads to maximize blossoms and minimise self - seeding , but avoid pruning until the leaping .
4) Blue Flowering Lilac
This Russian cross is a particularly spectacular eccentric oflilacthat can be grown as either a deciduous shrub or small tree diagram .
Its nitty-gritty - form bloom return up stems stud with little finger - purple buds , which unroll themselves in previous spring and early summer to let on double flowerheads that are sensational for both the eye and the nostrils .
Indeed , the deep blue lilac bloom is so heavy perfumed that you’re able to even take slip to set around the home , and your household will be filled with a wonderful fragrancy for days at a time .
Depending upon the specific cultivar you choose , this blue bloom lilac can reach a maximal height of up to 4 m in tree form , though it will obviously stay on shorter as a bush .
The specie is n’t a fan of acidic soil , but other than that , it ’s a very dispirited - care , high - reward pick for a down in the mouth hedge , mixed efflorescence layer or even indoor display .
It ’ll do well face any face , but if engraft in a smudge that ’s particularly susceptible to full sun , call back to mulch it occasionally to retain some moisture for the roots .
5) Rose Of Sharon ‘Blue Chiffon’
Otherwise known as Blue Chiffon , this eye - catching hibiscus is a average - sized deciduous shrub with palmately lobed leave , its points spreading out from the fore liked fingerbreadth on a hand .
Every year , the leafage attend as desktop to beautiful pallid - blue blooms with layer upon layer of papery petals , the outermost bearing a violet soil at their centre .
Indeed , it ’s the layering of those petals which give the Blue Rose its substitute cognomen ; the flower itself resemble a mickle of ruffled chiffon .
It ’s a reliable shrub that has been awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit , meaning you jazz you ’re have a quality plant when you take root upon it as part of your flowered garden show .
Growing up to a maximum of 2 K in superlative , the hibiscus serves every bit well as a standalone plant life or as a low hedge as it does in tandem bicycle with other bush around it .
It bang the sun but prefers shelter from the wind , while it requires little maintenance other than trimming back to keep it from encroaching on surrounding specie .
6) California Lilac
Ceanothusare arguably the most impressive and right away recognizable of all blue - blossom bush , coming in both deciduous and evergreen varieties .
Indeed , there are so many different variant uncommitted that you could even select whether you ’d prefer a spring , summer or of late - blossom increase to your garden , offering maximum flexibility in your options .
Whichever multifariousness you choose , you ’re guaranteed to bask a sea of color when the shrub is in full blossom , with its heavy leaf carpeted in blossoms of its characteristic blue devil ( although pinkish and clean blossoming option are available ) .
They look particularly impressive when develop against a south - present fence or rampart , but can also serve as low hedges or borderline plants .
This species can be prone to bloom profusely one year , then producing nothing the next .
To avoid that problem , remove the flush after they have misplace their ringing but before the seeds begin to form .
you’re able to also instigate more growth by prune back those stems which have already bloom more than once .
7) Chinese Wisteria
Unlike all of the other plant mentioned on this list , Formosan wisteria wo n’t necessarily be limit to your garden .
As a prolific mounting shrub , wisteria can completely transform the exterior of your plate , trailing up around doors and windows and sum a spectacular aesthetic to your construction ’s façade .
It is characterised by depressed , purple or pink droop blooms each yr .
When choosinga wisteriaspecimen to preface into your garden , ensure that you get one that has been bred by grafting rather than from cum , since the latter variety show can take decades to produce flowers .
Grafted wisteria is immediately discernable by the bulbous growth at the alkali of its theme , while all varieties of this breathless climber demand plenty of sunshine .
For practiced solvent , position the works against a hardy paries and make wires in position across it to train the new growth .
you could establish the wisteria in a good deal , but it ’ll do much better in the earth itself , while a amply fledged specimen can swell to the size of it of a small tree trunk , so ensure the surface that you plan to aim it against is unchanging and can tolerate its free weight as it grows .
Prune twice a year , in January and July , to insure that the wisteria follows the course you have laid out for it .
8) Clematis ‘Dutch Sky’
Clematis is another climbing bush , and though it might not farm as jaw - dropping results as wisteria , its faint blue bloom which subtly slide into a darker hue at the wind are a pleasing sight in themselves .
The rosiness will pass between June and September and bring forth plentiful flower without fail each twelvemonth , assure the wall , fencing or other verdure they adorn enjoys a encouragement of colouration .
Despite their name , the sky is n’t the demarcation line for ‘ Dutch Sky ’ plants – they rarely reach a height in nimiety of two metres , but their spread can outperform one meter well .
Plant them in any type of fertile soil which love honorable ventilation and check they receive at least partial photo to sun and you ’ll have no problem whatsoever with this crushed - maintenance mounting bush .
They ’re also not as structurally need as wisteria , meaning they can be discipline to climb Tree , shrubs and other plants in the neighbourhood , as Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly divvy up :
“ I useClematis viticellaa plenty in my gardening , wheter that ’s up wall , on trellises , over pergolas , up tree and shrubs or through hedges .
“ It will put on a large amount of growth rapidly in springiness and early summer and flower on that year ’s growth .
“ They can be pruned back to 30 cm from the footing in winter or to wherever you want the growth to start from the following give .
“ you’re able to prune out staunch during the growing time of year if it becomes vigorous . ”
Another variety to view isClematis‘Fukuzono ’ , a rare Nipponese stress which features incredible bluish - purplish flowers at will .
When planted alongside ‘ Dutch Sky ’ , this variety will complement the subtle , pastel colours of the former with its own bold palette , create a sensational display of climbers wherever they appear .
9) Hydrangea ‘Nikko Blue’
Nikko Blue is singular for the rounded globes of its flowerheads , in which individual blossoms chemical group together to produce a mophead gist of metallic blue .
As such , it ’s an splendid cut bloom in its own rightfulness and will work exceptionally well as a hedge or border plant .
In fact , the tart contrast between its vibrant flowers and lucullan foliation make it versatile for planting anywhere you bid .
away from its attractive flowered display , another impregnable marketing stop of Nikko Blue is its fast - growing properties .
In just two or three days , a seedling plant can reach its full height of over 1.5 m , leave a convenient screen to create privacy without have to sacrifice on esthetic impression – or wait constantly and a day for the flora to provide adequate cover .
Like most hydrangeas , Nikko Blue likes partial sunshine and moist terrain that savor good drainage .
It should be protected from the worst ravages of the wind – specially as a younger specimen – but once established , it will want very little in the way of any maintenance whatsoever , except for perhaps the occasional pruning to keep it in form .
You might need to undertakesome elbow grease to keep your hydrangea blue , but we think it ’s well deserving the spectacle !
10) Russian Sage
characterise by dense tangle of fragile , grey - green stems constellate with blue or lavender flowerheads , Russian Sage can impart its environment an glory of lightness and calmness .
It will bloom slimly after in the year than some other options and hold its efflorescence well into autumn , micturate it a outstanding option if you wish to prolong the display in your garden .
It ’s beautiful but austere aesthetic means it may process well when implant in a crushed rock garden or as part of a herbaceous edge .
Its blooms also attract plenty of bees , butterflies and other pollinators , meaning that it can heighten biodiversity , especially when planted among complementary shrubs which do the same .
One of the hardiest plant on this list , Russian Sage is all but imperviable to droughts and pests , though it does prefer full sunshine and may command tribute in colder parts of the UK during winter .
It can develop to over a metre in superlative and may require keep if cultivated individually ; alternatively , you’re able to institute it in batches to provide mutual financial support .
thrifty pruning should be conducted once a year in other springiness to forestall floppy growth later in the class .
