Blue Flowers DO Exist! Grow These in Zone 3
At our farm, there’s constantly a debate over what’s a blue flower and what’s a purple flower. My parnter Chris always gives me a hard time and say these are “florist blue” not true blue - they’re shades of purple. My theory? Women can see more shades of colour than men and in fact, THESE ARE BLUE!
So, let’s dive into some of my favourite blue flowers here at the farm, and a bit of information on how you, too, can grow them!
🫐CYNOGLOSSUM🫐
Cynoglossum flower
Commonly known as Chinese Forget-Me-Not, this prolific blue filler does best when direct sown - though you can start early if needed, like 3-4 weeks before last frost. It will rapidly self seed if not pulled after you’re done with it. Bees love it!
🫐CENTUREA🫐
Commonly known as Bachelor Buttons or Corn Flower - another blue flower that prefers to be direct sown, and will also take over if left to its own devices.
🫐NIGELLA🫐
Centurea, or Coneflower
Also known as Love In a Mist, another prolific self seeder and a direct sower. Seed pods are super fun to use dried - and the seeds themselves are known as black caraway and used in Indian cooking!
🫐ERYNGIUM🫐
Or Sea Holly, this thistle is a pervasive perennial that should be started now if you haven’t already. You won’t have super bomb stems until its second year. It propagates through seed or by its sturdy tap root. Once it’s in your garden, good luck getting it out.
🫐ECHINOPS🫐
Or Globe Thistle. My FAVE fresh and dried. This perennial has sparked many a debate between my boyfriend and me - I don’t care what you say: it’s blue. Like Sea Holly, start it now, and expect beautiful stems its second year.
Azure Allium
🫐DELPHINIUM🫐
This perennial comes in so many epic shades of blue. I love them all. Start yesterday (nah you still have time), but the seeds do need 2 weeks or so of cold stratification (place seeds in freezer). You’ll get lots of usable stems your first year, but watch out for Delphinium Worm. We had a huge problem with this pest last year - signs are curled foliage and deformed stems.
Other blue flowers worth of a shout out:
TWEEDIA, FLAX , BUTTERFLY PEA FLOWER, MORNING GLORY, FAMA BLUE SCABIOSA, ALLIUM…
Any I’m missing???