Cool Blue

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Gardening with Beautiful Color

Blue SHADES

The word "Blue" does not mean the sensation caused by a gentian on the human eye; but it means the power of producing that sensation: and this power is always there, in the thing, whether we are there to experience it or not, and would remain there though there were not a man left on the face of the earth. "         John Ruskin

Allium caeruleum
Etymology
caeluleus, derived from caelum, “sky, heaven”

 Blue Flowering Ornamental Onions (Allium caeruleum) Photo Credit:  The American Rock Society

Variegated Greater Periwinkle

Bluebonnet

BAPTISIA

SCILLIA

Bluebell

Morning Glory

Morning Glory

Bog Salvia

Flax Lilly

Lobelia

Lobelia

Dayflower

Larkspur Delphinium

Siberian Iris

Cornflower, Mountain Bluet, Centaurea Montana

Pansy

Blue mistflower

Mexican Salvia

Vitex

Vitex

Buddleia butterfly bush

Borage

Nightshade

Duranta

Love-in-a-mist

Blue flowers bring good luck to your garden. Here are 45 plants with blue flowers. Think about adding one or two.

Table I:  45 Cool Blue Flowers

1	Agapanthus	Agapanthus africanus	Amaryllidaceae
2	Ornamental onion	Allium caeruleum	Amaryllidaceae
3	Oxford Blue	Eryngium bourgatii	Apiaceae
4	Bluestar	Amsonia tabernaemontana	Apocynaceae
5	Glory-of-the-snow	Chionodoxa	Asparagaceae
6	Grape Hyacinth	Muscari	Asparagaceae
7	Siberian Squill	Scilla sibirica	Asparagaceae
8	Cornflower	Centaurea cyanus	Asteraceae
9	Globe Thistle	Echinops ritro	Asteraceae
10	Brunnera	Brunnera macrophylla	Boraginaceae
11	Forget-Me-Nots	Myosotis scorpioides	Boraginaceae
12	Desert Bluebells	Phacelia campanularia	Boraginaceae
13	Lungwart	Pulmonaria officinalis	Boraginaceae
14	Empire Blue' Butterfly Bush	Buddleia davidii	Buddlejaceae
15	Bellflower	Campanula	Campanulaceae
16	Lobelia	Lobelia	Campanulaceae
17	Scabiosa	Scabiosa	Caprifoliaceae
18	Birdbill Dayflower	Commelina dianthifolia	Commelinaceae
19	Morning Glory	Ipomoea tricolor	Convolvulaceae
20	Blue False Indigo	Baptisia australis	Fabaceae
21	Sweet pea	Lathyrus odoratus	Fabaceae
22	Lupine	Lupinus	Fabaceae
23	Harvestbells	Gentiana saponaria	Gentianaceae
24	Gentians	Gentiana verna	Gentianaceae
25	Perennial Geranium	Geranium	Geraniaceae
26	Hydrangea	Hydrangea macrophylla	Hydrangeaceae
27	Iris	Iris sibirica	Iridaceae
28	Stiff Blue-eyed Grass	Sisyrinchium demissum	Iridaceae
29	The Blue Mist Shrub	Caryopteris clandonensis	Lamiaceae
30	Salvia	Salvia	Lamiaceae
31	The Chaste Trees	Vitex	Lamiaceae
32	Flax	Linum usitatissimum	Linaceae
33	Periwinkle	Corydalis flexuosa	Papaveraceae
34	Himalayan Blue Poppy	Meconopsis betonicifolia	Papaveraceae
35	Bluecrown Passionflower	Passiflora caerulea	Passifloraceae
36	Veronica	Veronica	Plantaginaceae
37	Georgia Blue	Veronica umbrosa	Plantaginaceae
38	Poorman's Weatherglass	Anagallis arvensis	Primulaceae
39	Columbine	Aquilegia	Ranunculaceae
40	Clematis	Clematis	Ranunculaceae
41	Blue Delphiniums	Delphinium	Ranunculaceae
42	Larkspur	Delphinium scaposum	Ranunculaceae
43	Love in Mist	Nigella damascena	Ranunculaceae
44	Skyflower	Duranta Erecta	Verbenaceae
45	Pansy	Viola	Violaceae

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From Werner's Nomenclature of Colours

Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749-1817) was a mineralogist and geologist at the mining school in Freiberg, Saxony. In his 1774 book On the External Characteristics of Fossils, he established a classification system to describe the colors of both fossils and minerals. Patrick Syme (1774-1845), an Edinburgh painter and art teacher, reconstructed Werner's colors by consulting actual minerals, paired the hues with examples from plant and animal life, and created the system of color swatches and descriptions that form the basis of this book.

  BLUES

• Scotch Blue, is Berlin blue, mixed with a considerable portion of velvet black, a very little grey, and a slight tinge of carmine red.
• Prussian Blue, is Berlin blue, with a considerable portion of velvet black, and a small quantity of indigo blue.
• Indigo Blue, is composed of Berlin blue, a little black, and a small portion of apple green.
• China Blue, is azure blue, with a little Prussian blue in it.
• Azure Blue, is Berlin blue, mixed with a little carmine red : it is a burning colour.
• Ultramarine Blue, is a mixture of equal parts of Berlin and azure blue.
• Flax-Flower Blue, is Berlin blue, with a slight tinge of ultramarine blue.
• Berlin Blue, is the pure, or characteristic colour of Werner.
• Verditter Blue, is Berlin blue, with a small portion of verdigris green.
• Greenish Blue, the sky blue of Werner, is composed of Berlin blue, white, and a little emerald green.
• Greyish Blue, the small blue of Werner, is composed of Berlin blue, with white, a small quantity of grey, and a hardly perceptible portion

Indigoandblue

All material © 2021 by Jeanette Hyden for Grassroots Horticulture

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