This post is for my wife- she has been commenting on the many shades of blue in our garden. There are blues from different species, and there different shades of blue within each species as the flowers age, and there are different shades of blue depending on various micro-climates in the yard. The yellow flowers are starting to show themselves and soon we'll have lots of yellow in the yard, like prairie arnica (Arnica sororia), hairy golden aster (Heterotheca villosa), false dandelion (Agoseris glauca), and blanket flower (Gaillardia aristata).Below are some examples of what's blue at our home today.
Wilcox's penstemon (Penstemon wilcoxii)
Small-flowered penstemon (Penstemon procerus)
Shrubby penstemon (Penstemon fruticosus)
Wilcox's and small flowered penstemons
Rocky mountain iris (Iris missouriensis)
Blue flax, small flowered penstemon and Wilcox's penstemon
Wilcox's penstemon
Blue flax (Linum lewisii)
Blue columbine (Aquilegia coerulea)
Squeak, our 15-year old blue-point Himalayan.
I love penstemons and blue flax. I didn't used to like blue flax, it seemed too weedy for me. But it's such a nice blue, and after it flowers I cut it back and it comes back with that great blue/green foliage. And how can you beat a penstemon?
ReplyDeletePerhaps with those cat eyes, you can.
That looks wonderful! Thanks for sharing! (No blue jays?)
ReplyDeleteYour blue flowers are beautiful. It's such a pretty colour in the garden. The columbine and iris are gorgeous, with their intricate petal combinations. A field of blue flax is always breathtaking. The wildlife muct appreciate the banquet you've set up around your birdbath.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your complements.
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy blue flax, but Kim and Victoria are right- it can be weedy
(http://montanawildlifegardener.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-is-weed.html).
This is the plant I weed out of our garden the most, but I don't try to get rid of it, either. I usually remove the biggest plants every year, and then pull up ones that are encroaching on other flowers. Since it is a tap rooted plant, it is easy to remove. The interesting thing about blue flax, although it is native, but not very common, the plant most people have (including me) is a cultivar of the native that is a much more prolific seeder. Anyway, it is beautiful.
Thanks again for your comments.
David
Gorgeous! I have such a soft spot for columbines but the penstemons are beautiful as well. Blue is a color that is more rare in California ( I am a landscape designer in San Diego) so I am jealous of your rambunctious wildflowers!
ReplyDelete-Kate Wiseman
www.sageoutdoordesigns.com
As if you gave a bouquet of blue flowers by this post
ReplyDelete