19 Stunning Blue Flowers You’ll Love Having in Your Garden From annuals to shrubs, these plants with blue flowers will add a calm, cooling splash of color to your landscape.
- Global Prophetic Voice
- Jun 2
- 7 min read
By Viveka Neveln Updated
Plants with blue flowers are not abundant in nature. But when you've got some, they're eye-catching and really earn their keep. Choose from these easy-care perennials, annuals, shrubs, vines, and bulbs that bloom in various shades of blue.
Blue Hydrangea
A big, blue hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) is absolutely breathtaking. You can get your bigleaf hydrangeas to turn sky blue by increasing soil acidity. Adding soil sulfur is one way to do this. Bigleaf hydrangeas typically flower on last year’s growth, so if you need to prune them, do so right after they finish flowering. And look for newer varieties bred under the name Endless Summer, which produce flowers on both new and old growth.
Growing Conditions: Morning sun and afternoon shade and moist, well-drained soil that’s rich in organic matter
Size: 6-7 feet tall and 4-5 feet wide
Zones: 4–9
Plant it with: Blue bigleaf hydrangeas look stunning when paired with white-flowering varieties such as ‘Annabelle’ or oakleaf.
Perennial Geranium
Plenty of plants offer purple flowers that lean toward blue, but ‘Rozanne’ perennial geranium is one of the best. This long-blooming geranium flowers from June until frost, producing a nearly endless supply of violet-blue flowers.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 6-12 inches tall and 6-28 inches wide
Zones: 4–8
Plant it with: Because geranium plants start flowering in early summer, pair it with spring-blooming bulbs such as grape hyacinth, crocus, and white daffodils to add color before this perennial gets going.
Delphinium
Delphiniums offer some of the truest blue-color blooms available. Though perennial, these plants are short-lived and don’t do well in heat and humidity, so sometimes they’re treated like annuals. Stake taller delphinium varieties to keep their flower spikes from toppling over in the wind. Grow them in soil rich in organic matter and provide a balanced fertilizer to encourage the best blue flowers.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 1-3 feet tall and wide
Zones: 3–7
Plant it with: Blue-flowering dwarf delphiniums such as ‘Butterfly Blue’ or ‘Summer Nights’ look fantastic with the yellow blooms of Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’ or ‘Fanfare’ blanket flower.
Heart-leaf Brunnera
A gorgeous, but underused, shade plant, brunnera (Brunnera macrophylla) produces sprays of tiny, pale-blue, spring flowers that resemble forget-me-nots. Add to the color show of brunnera—which also goes by the common name Siberian bugloss—by choosing a variegated selection, such as ‘Jack Frost’, ‘Silver Heart’, or ‘King’s Ransom’ (shown here), which have silver-splashed leaves.
Growing Conditions: Shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 1-3 feet tall and 12-30 inches wide
Zones: 3–7
Plant it with: The springtime flowers look fantastic paired with white or yellow daffodils or with silvery Japanese painted fern.
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Grape Hyacinth
A small but beautiful spring-flowering bulb, grape hyacinth (Muscari) produces clusters of blue flowers in midspring. You can also find varieties that bear purple, white, or yellow flowers.
Growing Conditions: Sun or shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 6-9 inches tall and 3-8 inches wide
Zones: 4–8
Plant it with: Yellow daffodils are a classic choice, but you can extend the season by planting with late-spring-blooming perennials, such as columbine, that keep the color show going after grape hyacinth has faded.
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Clematis
Blooming in a range of colors, clematis is a beautiful vine to add to your garden. The true blue-flowering varieties include ‘Crystal Fountain,’ ‘Ice Blue,’ or ‘Arabella.’ Give these vines a trellis or another support to climb.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 3-8 feet tall and 3-20 feet wide
Zones: 3–9,
Plant it with: A classic way to grow clematis is to combine it with climbing roses. Create contrast by planting a blue-flowering clematis with a yellow rose, such as ‘Graham Thomas Climbing’, or a white type like ‘Climbing Iceberg’.
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Bluestar
As you might guess, bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana) features starry blue flowers that appear in late spring. This native plant is also heat, drought, deer, and rabbit resistant. The foliage turns a beautiful shade of yellow at the end of the season.
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil
Size: 2-3 feet tall and wide
Zones: 3–9
Plant it with: Columbines are perfect companions for bluestar. Create a harmonious color scheme by planting blue- or white-flowering columbines; create contrast with yellow varieties.
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Leadwort
Also called hardy plumbago, leadwort (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides) is a vigorous perennial groundcover. It puts on a show at the end of the season with its sky-blue flowers and rich red fall foliage. This plant grows more slowly in shade but still blooms well.
Growing Conditions: Sun or shade and well-drained soil
Size: 6-12 inches tall and 12-18 inches wide
Zones: 5–9
Plant it with: Create a bold display at the end of the season by pairing leadwort with yellow chrysanthemums or white asters.
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Bellflower
Often used in cottage gardens, bellflowers (Campanula ) produce starry or bell-shaped flowers in blue, violet, pink, or white. Many of the longer-stemmed varieties make excellent cut flowers. Dwarf types, such as ‘Pearl Deep Blue’ work well as groundcovers.
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 1-6 feet tall and 6-36 inches wide
Zones: 3-9
Plant it with: Bellflowers are perfect companions for blue pincushion flowers (Scabiosa). Bonus: Both are great for cutting.
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Salvia
Both annual and perennial salvia varieties have become garden champions for their heat and drought tolerance, as well as the fact that deer and bunnies tend to leave them alone. For true blue flowers, look for Salvia azurea or S. patens (shown here). Other varieties of salvia, such as ‘May Night’ or ‘Blue Mound’, offer more violet-blue flowers.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: 1-3 feet tall and wide
Zones: 3–9
Plant it with: Blue salvia look wonderful with penstemon, a native perennial which is also heat and drought-resistant.
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Balloon Flower
An easy-to-grow perennial, balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus) offers puffy, round buds that open to beautiful blue, pink, or white star-shape blooms for several weeks in summer.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: 8-24 inches tall and 8-18 inches wide
Zones: 4–9
Plant it with: The lilac-pink flowers of ‘Appleblossom’ yarrow (Achillea) or gaura are a perfect complement to blue balloon flowers.
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Aster
One of the last plants to bloom in many gardens, asters (Symphyotrichum) light up the fall landscape and draw pollinators with their starry flowers. These perennials also make long-lasting cut flowers.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: 1-6 feet tall and 1-4 feet wide
Zones: 3–9
Plant it with: Goldenrod and mums are two perfect partners for blue asters.
Morning Glory
Loved by generations of gardeners, morning glory (Ipomoea tricolor) vines come in varieties that offer saucer-shaped, sky-blue flowers. Other varieties bear blooms in bright pink, bold red, purple, white, and even bicolors, such as the blue-and-white ‘Flying Saucers’ variety shown here. This vigorous annual vine is easy to grow from seed and can self-seed prolifically in situations where it’s happy.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: 3-8 feet tall and 5-20 feet wide
Zones: Annual in 2–8; Perennial in 9–11
Siberian Squill
A good choice for shady gardens, Siberian squill (Scilla siberica) makes a tiny but eye-catching display of bright blue flowers in early spring. These small bulbs will naturalize over time, meaning they’ll slowly spread to create a beautiful blooming carpet.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and well-drained soil
Size: 3-6 inches tall and wide
Zones: 2–8
Plant it with: Contrast blue scilla with pink, yellow, or orange early-flowering species tulips. It also mixes well with other small early bulbs, such as snowdrops.
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Love-in-a-Mist
This annual gets its colorful name from the ferny green leaves that set off the flowers. Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) is easy to grow from seed, and will reseed itself, so you don’t have to keep replanting it. Even after the striking blue petals are gone, the large round seedpods add interest to the garden and vase.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade and well-drained soil
Size: 15-24 inches tall and 6-12 inches wide
Zones: Annual
Plant it with: Try love-in-a-mist with other colorful annuals with contrasting flower shapes, such as celosia and globe amaranth.
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Baptisia
The tall blue flower spires of baptisia (Baptisia australis) always make an impressive display, starting in spring and going into summer. The large dark seedpods that follow also look interesting. Also known as false indigo, this bold native perennial is easy to grow because it can tolerant heat and drought well, and deer and other pests don’t bother it.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: 2-4 feet tall and wide
Zones: 3–8
Plant it with: For a prairie effect, plant baptisia with other natives, such as purple coneflower, milkweed, and switchgrass.
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Iris
With myriad types to choose from, irises come in nearly every shade. For the best blue-flowered irises, look for bearded iris, Siberian iris, reticulated iris, and Japanese iris (shown here) varieties.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: 6-40 inches tall and 6-30 inches wide
Zones: 4–9
Plant it with: Together, Oriental poppy bearded iris can create a striking spring color show. For a monochromatic look, try planting iris with purple-blue lupine or delphiniums.
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Globe Thistle
The coarsely textured leaves and name of globe thistle (Echinops ritro) may make you think of its weedier relatives, but this pretty perennial is a well-behaved option for your garden. Its long-lasting, steel-blue, spherical blooms appear in summer, and are good cut flowers.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: 1-3 feet tall and 1-2 feet wide
Zones: 3–9
Plant it with: Coneflower and coreopsis are both excellent partners to globe thistle, as their petals' shapes provide visual contrast. Bonus: They'll look great in a vase together, too.
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Rose of Sharon [101806177.tif]
For soft blue flowers that keep coming—and attracting pollinators—for months, turn to this woody shrub. Rose of sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) blooms from mid-summer all the way to first frost. Give it plenty of space in your yard—rose of Sharon grows quite large.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 8-12 feet tall and 6-10 feet wide
Zones: 5–9
Plant it with: For another nectar-rich shrub, try weigela. It flowers in spring to mid-summer, stopping right around when rose of Sharon's blooming kicks into gear. For foliage contrast, pair rose of Sharon with smoke tree.
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