Blue is my happy place in the garden. It might be the blue of the sky on a sunny day, or the deep stillness of water in a woodland pond. At their best, native flowers can show us those colors in bloom. In a border full of blazing oranges, glowing yellows, and saturated reds, blue plants are a garden’s sigh of relief. A cool bucket of water on a hot day.
I’ve been a native plant grower for decades now, and I could wax poetic about how native blue flowers make a landscape, but I’ll just keep it simple. Blue is my favorite. Why? You ask. Well, blue native flowers are gorgeous. Stunning. They’re also one of the best ways to feed pollinators, attract beneficials, and root your garden in your native ecosystem.
In this article, I’ll talk about why blue native flowers are special. I’ll show you some of my favorites we grow at TN Nursery, and share some tips on how to design with blue in your landscape.
Why Native Blue Flowers Are Special
Blue native flowers offer gardeners a chance to see those sky and water colors right at home. Native plants have the edge when it comes to thriving in local soil and weather conditions. They’re hardy, drought-resistant, and virtually carefree. But more importantly, they feed a host of pollinators, birds, and other wildlife. Many native species are declining because of habitat destruction and pesticide use, and even more common native species are in trouble, like native bees and butterflies. Native blue flowers can be especially useful when working to restore or create habitat for pollinators because they work so well as food plants for bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies that are attracted to cooler parts of the color wheel.
Blue also works well as an accent or background in a native garden design. Blue flowers add depth to shady areas, pop against bright yellows and oranges, and hold a touch of woodland mystery in quiet spots. And just try planting those native blue flowers and NOT smiling.
Blue is the cool end of the color spectrum, and because of the way human eyes perceive color, it can make a design sing. If you plant blue to create a native blue garden, of course, but that’s up to you. Planting native blue flowers in your yard or garden is always good for a smile, however.
Our Favorite Native Blue Bloomers
Native blue perennials at TN Nursery (literally thousands!) are the breath of life in our designs. I tend to fall back on the favorites we grow time and again to bring pollinators, add texture, and create a diverse palette in a landscape. Check out some of the top native blue blooming favorites.
Spring ephemerals are a real joy to grow and one of the first things to pop out in a woodland garden after winter. Virginia Bluebells are hard to beat as one of the most beautiful native spring ephemerals, with nodding clusters of tiny trumpet-shaped blooms that are a saturated shade of sky blue. They like moist, rich soil, and dappled light and can be found at the edge of deciduous woods. You’ll only have them for a few short weeks before the tree canopy fills in and they head dormant for summer, but they’re so stunning when they bloom, and they’re a lovely way to start a woodland garden. At TN Nursery we always include them in our early spring wildflower collections.
Blue Vervain is another native that feeds the soul. You can’t look at these tall, spikey blue blooms without smiling (well, you can but you’re a little Scrooge). The spires of tiny violet-blue blooms get bumblebees, butterflies, and hummingbirds buzzing in no time. It also serves as a host plant for the Common Buckeye butterfly. Hummingbirds will zip up and down the spikes too. Blue Vervain likes moist soils, and will do well in a rain garden, meadow planting, or other areas where the soil may get wet or have some standing water in spring and summer. This native blue bloomer will also bring height and drama to any native perennial border or prairie planting.
Also known as woodland phlox, these low-growing natives make a welcome addition to most woodland gardens, which is no surprise because they’re often found on the forest floor with other natives like Trillium, ferns, and Bleeding Hearts. It will spread over the forest floor with dense blue to lavender blooms, and blooms early in the season. They prefer moist, well-drained soil with some shade. We dig these for shipment in early spring so that gardeners can establish a patch that will come back for years.
Blue. You know that when you want blue you can count on Great Blue Lobelia for a punch of pure sapphire in your garden. Lobelia is one of the deep blue native flowers I can’t do without in the summer garden. Lobelia is a must for pollinators, and few garden plants are more beautiful than a Lobelia spike heavy with sapphire blooms. This native has made it onto the endangered species list at various times and is thought to be one of the best blue native flowers for hummingbirds. It blooms later in the season, and is still working in late summer or early fall when many other blooms have slowed or stopped. Hummingbirds and bumblebees love it, and it’s also an excellent choice for those looking for alternatives to Cardinal Flower, another favorite of ours. Lobelia is a little more cold hardy and can be grown in Zones 3-8. It prefers moist, loamy soil but can tolerate a bit of dryness once established.
You may not know Veronica by name, but you may know this little native groundcover by its most common name, Speedwell. Veronica repens is a gorgeous native groundcover that creeps and spreads easily under trees and shrubs, along woodland edges and borders, and even makes a great rock garden groundcover. Unlike invasive non-native groundcovers, this native plays well with others and works to create more biodiversity on your land rather than steal it. It makes a lovely border or streambed between stepping stones, and its airy blue blooms in spring are a fine accent among ferns, and mosses, or to pair with taller natives for some visual interest around garden features. If you’re working to create a pollinator path or stream in your yard or just looking for a textural native groundcover to use around other perennials, look no further.
Designing with Blue Blooms in Your Garden
For me, design always comes back to height, bloom times, and microhabitat. If you want a full-scape, you’ll need some taller perennials like Blue Vervain for the back of a rain garden, some Virginia Bluebells or Woodland Phlox for a shady garden path or under taller shade trees, and something creeping like Blue Veronica for between stepping stones, around garden features, or even to cascade over an edge. Blue cools the eye, and gives your eye a place to rest when you’ve got a bunch of warm colors like yellows and oranges in your border, so try putting them next to each other for a breath of fresh air in a prairie garden or a woodland edge, or to pair with bright golden Black-Eyed Susans or deep red Bee Balms.
Native blue flowers are also excellent food sources for birds and pollinators, and they don’t ask much in return. Native perennials, especially blue natives, don’t need a lot of soil prep or extra work to establish or thrive. At TN Nursery, all our plants are shipped bare root, which may seem intimidating at first, but trust me, it’s the most environmentally responsible way to grow plants for us, and one of the best ways to ensure you’ll get strong, healthy specimens. Plus, because bare root plants are dormant and shipped without soil, they don’t experience transplant shock the way potted nursery stock does, and if you take care with planting and proper care they’ll be established in your garden in no time. Dig a spot big enough to spread roots, and don’t bury the crown of the plant, water well, and add some mulch around it’s base. Most blue bloomers don’t like to dry out in the first year or so, but you can usually get away with a deep soak or two once established.
Blue is the color of the wildflowers we see on wildflower hikes, the color of secret ponds and shady glens, and the sky over those places too. Native blue flowers can bring some of that magic into our yards, where we can enjoy the colors for months at a time. But they’re not just beautiful, they’re one of the best ways to bring pollinators and beneficials back to your land, and help right the balance on the planet. If you’re planting a pollinator garden, planting for resiliency, or simply because you love to see a garden thrive, adding some native blue blooming perennials is always a good choice.
TN Nursery has been growing and shipping native blue blooming perennials for decades now. We are more than a nursery to us, they are part of our mission to connect people back to the native world around them. If you’re looking for a low-growing groundcover, a quick burst of bloom in the spring, or tall spires for hummingbirds in the summer and fall, we’ve got a native blue flower waiting to grow in your garden.
Blue is so much more than a color. It’s hope. It’s a promise of food. It’s a much-needed gulp of air on a hot day. And it’s just a shovel down.
