Blues Ideas, Tips & Guides

Dutch Iris or Iris reticulata are small bulbs for pots or rockeries. Flag Iris are big and blousy and grow from Rhizomes. These pictures of different Iris are grown from bulbs.

It has been a good spring for auriculas in my garden and cold greenhouse. Now the plants need time to rejuvenate after flowering so I will have time to read the National Auricula and Primula and Society’s excellent new members handbook and some of the following epistles.

Ipomea indica the blue form of Morning Glory is a cool clear blue, a startling colour in the garden. As you would expect from a member of the Convolvulous clan it is a strong twisting and binding climber.

Tulips protected by a windbreak.

Violas are perennial and grow best in well drained soil that has an open structure to encourage fibrous roots and promote many stems from the same root. They may get a bit leggy so cut back two or three times during the spring and summer to encourage new shoots and more flowers. Aid this by applying a liquid rose fertilizer or seaweed and keep watered.

Formal gardens generally rely on geometric shapes and repetition and so you may not think about ground cover in these situations. Balance and proportion are also key features of a formal garden and generally have fewer species of plants than may be found in in informal gardens.

Not so long ago my Hostas were in fine flowering fettle. Now as Autumn approaches the slugs and snails are making a meal of the soft juicy leaves that are starting to give up the ghost.

As gardeners mature they enter a purple patch in their life and potentially in the garden. Some of the best plants with purple or coppery coloured leaves take several years to mature like the notional gardener. Amongst the favourites must be the copper beech and the many Acers with reddish leaves.

In some years different plants do better than others. In my garden this year is the spring for primulas and today’s crop shows off some of the strong colours that I have been enjoying.

The answer to the question is ‘of course green is a colour.’ Green is a mixture, a hybrid in gardening terms, as it is made from yellow and blue combined in varying quantities. But the emphasis is on the ‘made from’ of this answer.  The leaves above contain a higher proportion of blue whilst those below are more yellow in content.

Roses are red Pansies are blue -They’re available in other colours – but what can you do?

Sorry if this post is a bit repetitive from one at the beginning of May but my mind is socially distanced from my memory. My garden lilac has never smelt so good but I am sure the colour has been stronger in previous years.

What I am talking about  are plants that are bigger than the biggest aspidistra in the Gracie Fields song book. They represent examples of the biggest natural organic organism in the world. I have three candidates for your consideration a couple of which may surprise you.

We gardeners hopefully learn as we go along and this post is an update of a 6 year old report on indoor primulas.

Stately and statuesque, the blue Delphinium is one of the best tall features in a herbaceous border. I questioned my English teacher whether they should be called Delphinii as there always seemed to be several upright stalks like the chunky dark blue examples above. As regular readers will know spelling is not one of my greatest strengths.(nor is grammar).

Pulmonaria Blue Ensign

There is a clematis for every season, every aspect and every place. The flower size and colour range is also wider than you may imagine. Update I have just bought (2.9.19) another clematis Madame Le Coultre for flowering june to august.

Trailing plants are a great addition to any garden as they provide visual interest throughout the year. In this article, we’ll explore the Best Evergreen Vines for Year-Round Interest, including their characteristics, growing requirements, and unique features.

Here are the Best Daisy Tattoo Ideas. These stunning designs and patterns will inspire you to get a tattoo to adorn your skin. Let us have a look!

Honeyberries are deciduous shrubs in the honeysuckle or Caprifoliaceae family. Also known as the blue honeysuckle or edible honeysuckle, their native range includes Siberia and Japan. These hardy, low maintenance bushes have become popular in the UK recently. Unlike blueberries, they thrive in both acid and alkaline soils, and they make a fantastic addition to a fruit garden or a warm, sunny border.

These vines are also popular as some varieties producePassion Fruit. If you want to include ornamental flowers in your garden, then check out some beautiful Types of Passionflower Vines!

Whether you're revamping a certain space within your home or are moving into a brand new house, you may be wondering how to best select a color palette for a given room.

With so many types of art pieces to choose from for your home, it may be daunting to think about starting to shop for prints, posters, originals, or other works. However, filling your home with art should be an enjoyable process, and it isn't quite as complicated as you might think, either.

College move-in day can be almost as stressful as it is exciting. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first or your fourth—there are many things to consider and many ways to make your new temporary living place feel like home.

Bromeliads are one of the most colorful plants you can adorn your rooms with. If you want the most stunning ones for your home, then check out these Best Bromeliads Anyone Can Grow Easily Indoors!

Our chunkiest dragonfly, the emperor is found in large ponds and lakes, as well as canals and occasionally moving bodies of water. They are commonly found in gardens. Males are pale blue with a greenish thorax, while females are green. Both have green-blue eyes and a black stripe running along the top of their body. They fly high to catch prey such as butterflies and smaller dragonflies, and may be seen eating them on the wing.

Honeyberries are deciduous shrubs in the honeysuckle or Caprifoliaceae family. Also known as the blue honeysuckle or edible honeysuckle, their native range includes Siberia and Japan. These hardy, low maintenance bushes have become popular in the UK recently. Unlike blueberries, they thrive in both acid and alkaline soils, and they make a fantastic addition to a fruit garden or a warm, sunny border.

Girl dinner is the latest dining trend to take over social media. Many of us already knew it existed (we were eating it, after all), but it didn't have a name until a few weeks ago. At its most basic, it's a pantry clear-out, cheese-and-charcuterie, snacking kind of meal. You can eat it with your fingers and graze on it while watching TV, reading a good book, and just doing a little self-care.

I can easily spot rose-of-Sharon or shrub althea (Hibiscus syriacus) at this time of year, even when traveling at 55 mph. This deciduous shrub flowers during the torrid months of July, August, and early September.

For those looking to add a splash of color to their outdoor space, do not miss these Best Colorful Hostas! They will surely add a vibrant appeal to your home!

Design trends are constantly changing, but sometimes a style reemerges at precisely the time when it feels new and fresh—no matter how long it's been around. Scalloped design is having just that sort of moment. Scalloped borders in interior design can be found as far back as the Renaissance, and they were often used in Art Deco interiors in the early 20th century, and again during the preppy 1980s. 

Have a look at the Best Blue Fruits that you can grow along with different plants and flowers in your garden for a touch of royal tint!

Rows of tall Delphinium ‘Strawberry Fair’ in Polly Nicholson's Wiltshire garden

Requiring less watering and weeding than any other type of garden, a gravel garden is ideal for anyone with a busy lifestyle. Comprising freely draining soil covered in gravel, through which suitable plants grow, the only effort required is in its creation; after that, this contemporary form of garden largely looks after itself.

In case you hadn’t noticed, weeds are having a bit of a moment, and have been for some time. They were stars of the show at Chelsea this year and are increasingly being appreciated for their up-until-now-overlooked ornamental value. They are also living proof that our attitudes to gardens – who they are for and how they should look — are shifting. Gardens have always been a mirror to society, and now more than ever we see the pressing issues of our time reflected in how we think about them. We are no longer creating gardens solely for our enjoyment, but for the birds and the bees too. We are also being much more mindful about resource management, selecting plants and materials which will have the lightest footprint, requiring the least intervention. Weeds (whatever that term means) are the perfect solution. Incredibly well adapted to their environment, they will need little or no nurture to get established and thrive. And because they’re native, they support a huge range of insects and invertebrates who have evolved alongside them.

Discover the mesmerizing charm of these stunning Black and Blue Butterflies adorned with elegant shades of black and blue.