What was I saying last week about the weather getting odder by the day? This week has proven even odder than the last. Thirty degree temperatures in August has thrown lots of plants in my garden for a loop, not to mention the kids, who are arriving at the end of the day looking rosy cheeked and totally exhausted. Now I know why the buffer between winter and summer known as spring exists. It lets us all – plants and people – acclimatise.
Alas, there looks to be little acclimatising happening this year. I’m reluctant to be the bearer of bad tidings, but the BOM is predicting hotter and drier than average conditions for spring and summer. If you’ve got tank or bore water, now is the time to get new plants in the ground, before the worst of the hot dry weather really hits.
While you’re at it, why not consider some plants that produce blue flowers. Red and yellow pigments are common in the plant world, but blue is the rarest of them all. Most flowers described as blue are actually a shade of purple, or in the case of the inconceivably silly “blue” rose, more like a murky mauve. But get hold of a true blue flowering plant, and you’re guaranteed to enjoy a welcome splash of coolness in the middle of a hot summer, even if the cooling effect is psychological rather than physical.
At the moment I’m eagerly anticipating the first flowering of Ceanothus ‘Blue Pacific’. This is a cultivar of Californian lilac Kylie and I planted last autumn as a hedge, and beside its drought tolerance and resistance to wind, ‘Blue Pacific’ produces enormous panicles of flowers the colour of a clear September sky. More intensely blue is the dwarf cultivar Ceanothus ‘Blue Sapphire’, which has the added bonus of setting off its flowers against chocolate coloured leaves. Both are evergreen shrubs of the highest order.
If your soil is acidic, or you’re prepared to throw coffee grounds onto the soil, you’ll be able to grow one of the best blue flowering plants of all, Hydrangea macrophylla. This is one of those classic Toowoomba plants, and for good reason. Its blue flowers tone beautifully with lime green foliage, it flowers prolifically in tricky semi shade positions, the mop heads make excellent cut flowers, and not least, Hydrangea is a plant that exudes coolness.
In addition to a classic like hydrangea, lots of new plants are gaining popularity in the region’s gardens thanks to their reliability and drought tolerance. Salvias in particular are now a must have plant. Of the herbaceous types Salvia nemorosa ‘Blauhugel’ (syn. ‘Blue Hills’) produces the truest blue flowers, and makes a nice low filler plant at the front of a sunny border.
For genuine “blueness” though, it’s hard to go past the shrubby types. Salvia azurea is a superb variety, and really does bloom in an azure shade right through the late summer and autumn. It benefits from a haircut early in the growing season in order to avoid leggyness, but other than that, it’s a tough, yet ethereal plant. Another favourite of mine for a protected position is Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’, which produces unusual flowers coloured electric blue and inky black.
Let’s not overlook our native plants either. The Australian continent is home to some of the best blue flowering plants in the world, and one worthy of special attention is Lechenaultia biloba. Easily as stunning as the famed Himalayan Blue Poppy when in full bloom, Lechenaultia biloba is a low growing, semi-woody plant endemic to the south western corner of WA. It likes warm, dry conditions and most of all, perfect drainage. Because of this requirement it can be tricky to grow in our climate if planted directly in the ground so a better option is to try growing Lechenaultia in a deep, unglazed pot filled with a very free draining potting mix. Avoid wetting the foliage, and tip prune often to keep the luminescent flowers going right through spring into early summer.
Whether you use them in the garden as a “softener” between bolder plants, or plant them in great bluebell-like drifts for a sea of colour, blue flowering plants play an important role in the garden. If you’re like me and have been blessed with genes that make you sweat underwater, blue flowers are some of the most valued of them all. Green is lush, but blue is simply too cool for school.
First published in The Chronicle 29th August 2009. Image by Scott Zona via Wikimedia Commons.
