Looking For Blue Garden Design Inspiration? Try These 8 Plants For A Super Cool Garden

Cerulean, cobalt, ultramarine, azure… if you’ve ever dreamed of creating a blue garden design, you’re not alone. Blue is a favorite for gardeners around the world. The shades, tones, plants and arrangements you select can have a massive impact on the overall effect. Still, for anyone with a passion for growing plants for color, having a unifying theme can present a brilliant focus for all that follows.

Muted blue tones can create a space that is cool, calm, serene and peaceful, while stronger blues combined with other brilliant colors add drama and visual punch. Whatever your inclination, a blue themed garden is sure to stand out. Here, we explore some of the ideas and planting considerations that can help you make the most of this gorgeous color – plus, some of the quintessential plants to grow.

Inspiration for Your Blue Garden Design

The best way to find blue garden design ideas that work well and appeal to you is to explore gardens out there, both in person and online. Visit public gardens in your area, botanical gardens and formal parks to get a sense of suitable colorful plants to grow. When a blue garden plan impresses you, take photos. Some gardens utilize a monochromatic garden approach, whilst others work with color blocking, incorporating blue into a range of other colors with vibrant effect.

You'll find plenty of websites showcasing garden ideas and trends that play with this color theme. Pull off images of blue gardens that create the feeling you are looking for, consider which plants are included, and what other blue features are included. Size and regionality will have some bearing on any ideas you follow up, whether it’s delicate daisies or frothy hydrangeas.

Choosing the Best Blues for You

Before you rush to the garden store, consider your intentions in creating a blue themed garden. Blue can be used in varying hues and shades to create different emotional experiences. You could use muted shades of light blue, blue-gray and lilac blue for a softer effect. Or, you could opt for ‘true blue’ pairings with vibrant oranges, yellows or scarlets for drama and intensity. And again, blending deep, moody blues and richer purple shrubs and plants can make a space elegant and classy.

It’s also worth considering non-plant elements that can contribute to the blue theme, and help to give it depth and variety. Water features like fountains, ponds and water garden areas could help to provide a uniquely ‘blue’ presence, both around your blue plants and elsewhere. Furthermore, blue stone works well for pathways and rockeries, and even pots and containers can be blue.

The Best Plants For Your Blue Garden

Blue-hued plants should be at the center of your design. Selecting a few shrubs that produce blue flowers is a great starting point. However, plants with blue berries or even blue-green or teal foliage (such as hostas) can also create visual dynamite.

Foliage-based color can also include blue-green conifers, ornamental grasses and climbing vines, blue-green succulents, and plants offering blue fruit. Blending these elements can help create a bigger impact than would be possible if you relied on blooms. Blue plants are relatively rare, but there are a few natural wonders that can help create your blue paradise, depending on your climate and growing conditions.

1. Blueberry 'Duke'

Is blue ever prettier than in a blueberry? This fruiting bush (Vaccinium corymbosum) is a high-yield variety of blueberry that produces deep blue berries, sweet and tart as summer. Blueberry ‘Duke’ from Green Promise Farms, available to buy in the Gardening Know How Shop, also produces charming creamy white flowers with a blueish tinge, which appear in late spring.

2. California Lilac

I am a great fan of indigo blue flowers, and my go-to plant in California is California lilac (Ceanothus spp.). You can find ceanothus shrubs taller than you are, but also short, compact varieties. Growing California lilac, you’ll be rewarded with evergreen shrubs that light up in early spring with amazing blue flowers.

3. Bigleaf Hydrangea

Everyone loves the bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla), also called the snowball plant in honor of its huge, globe-shaped blossoms. It’s known for changing flower colors – the blooms are pink in alkaline soil, but blue blue blue in acidic soil.

As with other hydrangea varieties, these shrubs are easy to care for and undemanding. You should see flowers almost all season long. Impressive cultivar ‘LA Dreamin’, which is available in the Gardening Know How Shop, rewards patient growers with a full and fluffy display of blue and lavender blooms.

4. Blue My Mind / Blue Daze

This ground cover plant (also known as Brazilian dwarf morning glory) never grows above knee height, but it is a stunner. This particular variety of morning glory has gray-green foliage, a perfect backdrop for its funnel-shaped blue flowers.

Blue My Mind (Evolvulus glomeratus) needs full sun and well-draining soil. It will astound you with its drought tolerance. It is best in mild-winter climates, but it can be grown as an annual in cooler areas.

5. Blue Plumbago

This graceful plant has a sprawling growth habit as well as charming, sky-blue flowers. Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata) is a perennial in warmer zones, with flowers from late spring to winter.

When growing plumbago, you will find it develops and clambers quickly, making it perfect for trellises or covering fences. It needs a full sun location and regular watering to reach its full flowering potential.

6. Silver Dollar Plant

Subtle yet shimmering, the silver dollar plant (Eucalyptus cinerea) has large, oval leaves along its stiff stems. In the right climate, it can grow to 30 feet (10m) tall. The silvery blue leaves of Silver Dollar, available in the Gardening Know How Shop, also exude a gorgeous scent.

Eucalyptus plants can create a tall, narrow silhouette which adds a fascinating touch to any blue themed garden. This Australian native works best in warm climates and a full-sun location.

7. Blue Flag Iris

If you live in a warm area with marshy land, this is the blue flower for you. Blue flags (Iris Virginica) grow in wet areas, but also normal garden soil, topping out at 4 feet (1.3m) tall. Group different blue flag iris plants together for a blue wave, or scatter a few as accent plants. These blue beauties do best in a partially shaded location.

8. Grape Hyacinth

Grape hyacinth (Muscari spp.) is a spring-blooming perennial bulb. Muscari produces clusters of small, bell-shaped, cobalt-blue flowers that look like upside-down clusters of grapes. When growing muscari, you will find it is hardy in USDA zones 3-9 and should naturalize readily in well-draining soil.

More Stunning Thematic Ideas for Color

• Give a blue theme the perfect accent and combo color with some glorious golden accents. Try these unique yellow flowers to add a pop of sunshine to your blues.
• If you’re in the mood for something unusual and you are keen to venture to the dark side, we reveal how the goth gardening trend can add romanticism and intensity to your planting designs.
• Give any bold planting color a classic contrast – or just stick with the brightest florals you can grow. Try some of these 12 best white flowers to make a dazzling impression in both traditional and contemporary themed displays.
• If our floral and fruiting picks have fired up your imagination, be sure to check out our curated seed selections for extra inspiration – our zinnias for cutting in the Gardening Know How Shop is sure to add medleys of color all summer long.
• Want even more inspiration, advice and expertise delivered straight to your inbox? Make sure you sign up for the free Gardening Know How Newsletter!

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