Two Blue Flowers for the Garden

These plants are not annuals; agapanthus is a clumping plant with strap-like leaves and fleshy rhizomes for roots. It has round flower heads that stand up well above the leaves. They are made up of many tiny, tubular florets. Once an agapanthus is established in the garden it is there forever.

Agapanthus is easy to grow and drought resistant, being a native of South Africa. There are pale blue, darker blue, violet blue and white varieties – and lately a black agapanthus has become available. The plant flowers in the spring or early summer, depending on your temperature. In many temperate climates it flowers just in time for Christmas.

Another native of South Africa, plumbago is an evergreen bush that grows around five feet high and just as wide. It is covered by sky blue or darker blue flowers in the spring and summer and much of the autumn in temperate zones making it good value for the garden. There is also a white one available. The flower heads are borne in clumps of tubular flowers that spread out at the end to look rather like phlox.

How to Grow Agapanthus

Agapanthus is also known as African lily or lily of the Nile. They are popular as a container grown plant as they seem to flower well when their roots are squashed together in a container.

The agapanthus can be grown in zones 7-11 with ease. For colder climates they need to be planted more deeply and mulched over the top to prevent the rhizomes freezing. If temperatures fall below 20F they should be lifted in the winter and stored, then planted out again in the spring.

Plant agapanthus in full sun unless the climate is extremely hot, when light shade will be appreciated. They like well-drained soil with plenty of leaf mold and cow manure, but will grow in almost anything. Divide them every four or five years, but only once they become root bound. If they are not divided, they will still grow quite well, so don’t stress over this chore. Once they become established it is not always easy to dig them out.

How to Grow Plumbago

While plumbago favors light sandy soil, it also does quite well in other soil types, so long as it is slightly acidic, so don’t add lime. If the foliage turns yellow suspect a manganese deficiency and cure it with the addition of manganese sulphate.

There is no need to prune the plumbago shrub, but pruning the semi-woody stems in late winter will encourage more flower heads to form and keep it looking tidy.

It will grow in USDA zones 8B-11, being quite tolerant of frosts. It will even recover after being frosted to the ground.

Plumbago can be used as a hedge, a border plant, as a background in a larger garden or even as a feature shrub in the center of the lawn. It can be grown in a pot and kept on the patio where the pendulous branches will spill gracefully over the edges. It grows quickly and is a favourite of butterflies.

Blue flowers seem to add a dimension to the garden that is missing without them. They provide a cooler foil to all the bright pinks and reds, while adding a little emphasis to pale yellow and white themes. They look stunning grown with light pink or red flowers.