Skip to content

Top Navigation

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Food
  • Holidays & Entertaining
  • Home & Garden
  • Style & Culture
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Southern Living

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • These Haircuts Are Going To Be Huge in 2021

      The trendy haircuts you’ll be seeing everywhere next year. Read More Next
    • How To Season A Cast-Iron Skillet

      Learn how to season this Southern kitchen staple in five easy steps. Read More Next
    • The Right Way to Heat a Pre-Cooked Ham

      It's so easy, trust us. Read More Next
  • Food

    Food

    See All Food

    Lost Cakes of the South

    These simple and spectacular Southern cakes deserve a comeback
    • All Food
    • All Recipes
    • Holidays & Occasions
    • Quick Fix Suppers
    • Slow Cooker Recipes
    • Desserts
    • Casseroles
    • Healthy Recipes
  • Holidays & Entertaining

    Holidays & Entertaining

    See All Holidays & Entertaining

    70 Wedding Vow Examples That Will Melt Your Heart

    Fight writer's block and find ways to express your love with these romantic, funny, and short wedding vow examples.
    • Christmas
    • Entertaining
    • Thanksgiving
    • Southern Weddings
    • Easter
    • Kentucky Derby
    • Valentine's Day
    • 4th of July
    • Mother's Day
  • Home & Garden

    Home & Garden

    See All Home & Garden

    7 Paint Colors We’re Loving for Kitchen Cabinets in 2020

    ‘Tis the season to ditch your all-white palette in favor of something a little bolder and brighter.
    • Home Decor Ideas
    • Idea Houses
    • Before & After
    • Inspired Communities
    • Curb Appeal
    • House Plans & Builders
    • The Grumpy Gardener
    • Plant Names A-Z
  • Style & Culture

    Style & Culture

    See All Style & Culture

    50 Books Everyone Should Read in Their Lifetime

    Curl up with a classic!
    • Southern Culture
    • Hair
    • Travel
    • Beauty
    • Pets
    • Southern Fashion
    • Healthy Living
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Southern Living
  2. Gardening Ideas
  3. Gardening Flowers
  4. 17 Breathtaking Blue Flowers for Your Garden

17 Breathtaking Blue Flowers for Your Garden

By Kaitlyn Yarborough
March 29, 2019
Skip gallery slides
Save FB Tweet
Credit: Susan Ruggles/Getty Images
When it comes to giving your garden a spring-ready refresh, there’s no color as bold and bright as blue. This season, skip the pink zinnias, golden daffodils, and fiery hibiscus plants. It’s time to spruce up your landscape with lavender-blue, electric cobalt, and deep indigo blossoms.Fill up your flowerbeds, porch containers, hanging baskets, or curbside plots with blue flowering plants. Nothing gives a hearty dose of curb appeal like baby blue blooms, after all. These 17 blue flowers will have your garden looking better than ever.  So head to the garden shop, walk right past those azaleas, and go for the blue.
Start Slideshow

1 of 17

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

French Hydrangeas

Credit: Ralph Lee Anderson

Hydrangea macrophylla

Southerners love hydrangeas, that much we know to be true. (Talk about some dreamy bushels of blue.) French hydrangeas will take on a bright sky blue color if you make sure to keep the soil slightly acidic, which is even easier to do when using a pot.

1 of 17

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 17

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Virginia Bluebells

Credit: Susan Ruggles/Getty Images

Mertensia virginica

These clusters of baby blue are a surefire way to add curb appeal this season. Like a larger version of forget-me-nots, Virginia bluebells flower early and attract scores of bees and butterflies, which is always a welcome sight come springtime. Pair with annual flowers and late-summer blooms to offset the early flowering and dormant stage.

2 of 17

3 of 17

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Blue Daisies

Credit: RuudMorijn/Getty Images

Felicia amelloides

This plant makes a cheerful accessory in any garden, with its sky blue petals and light yellow center. Luckily for low-maintenance gardeners, these blooms are fast-growing, wind-resistant, and require only moderate water and care.

3 of 17

Advertisement

4 of 17

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

‘Blue Boy' Cornflower

Credit: Lisa Schaetzle/Getty Images

Centaurea cyanus

These blossoms look fit for a cozy cottage garden, no? Get the double blue color for a dramatic pop of pigment. In fact, the hue is so eye-catching that you’ll catch it come prom season. (The blooms are popular for boutonnieres.)

4 of 17

5 of 17

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Grape Hyacinth

Credit: Getty Images

Muscari sp.

The Grumpy Gardener once declared that these flowers are “absolutely the best, most dependable source of true, deep blue in the bulb world.” (You heard it here first, folks.) These get their name from how their bloom spikes look like miniature clusters of grapes.

5 of 17

6 of 17

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Lily of the Nile

Credit: eugenesergeev/Getty Images

Agapanthus africanus or Agapanthus umbellatus

Your garden guests will swoon over these fountainlike clumps of strap-shaped leaves, blooming like little bursts of blue fireworks. In warmer regions like the South, this cheery plant requires very little upkeep once planted. And once bloomed, you’ll be set with an abundance of cut flowers for at-home bouquets.

6 of 17

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 17

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Swan River Daisies

Credit: Maria Mosolova/Getty Images

Brachyscome iberidifolia

Look no further than this Australian daisy as a fun pop of color in your next container or along your outdoor walkway. These flowers are tough little suckers, too. They can handle a variety of soil environments and have decent heat tolerance, as well as disease resistance.

7 of 17

8 of 17

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Balloon Flower

Credit: Syntheticmessiah/Getty Images

Platycodon grandifloras

We can’t forget this perennial blue-flowered show-stopper. This species gets its name from flower buds that inflate like balloons before they pop open to reveal star-shaped blooms. Make sure to remove spent blooms, and this plant will keep producing fresh flowers from early to late summer.

8 of 17

9 of 17

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Forget-Me-Nots

Credit: Rowena Kong/Getty Images

Myosotis palustris 'Southern Blues’

They had us at the name. This beloved flower tolerates more heat than most, making it perfect for summers in the South. It spreads like a ground cover without totally taking over, which means it’s also perfect for filling in the gaps in your garden. Expect blooms from spring into summer.

9 of 17

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 17

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Blue Petunias

Credit: aimintang/Getty Images

Petunia × hybrida

This classic flower is everywhere, which means you won’t have a hard time finding blue hybrids—like Wave Blue, Supertunia Morning Glory Blue, and Surfinia Sky Blue—that hold up much better to summer heat and humidity than their predecessors. Count on these blooms to brighten up your garden for months.

10 of 17

11 of 17

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Blue Phlox

Credit: emkaplin/Getty Images

Phlox divaricata

You can’t help but be in a good mood when planting this stunning sweep of bright color over your flowerbed floor. The plant bears open clusters of powder-blue or lavender-blue in the spring.

11 of 17

12 of 17

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

'Blue Angel' Salvia

Credit: HHelene/Getty Images

Salvia patens 'Blue Angel'

If you desire a deeper blue plant to complement your garden colors, salvia makes a beautiful choice. Also referred to as sage plants, these flowers are relatively easy to grow and come in wonderful shades of blue. Most species aren’t appetizing to deer, bunnies, and other critters—so your blooms will be safe and sound.

12 of 17

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 17

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Sea Holly

Credit: Trudie Davidson/Getty Images

Eryngium maritimum

If you live in a climate with sandy or gritty soil that's inherently low in fertility, this flower is a great choice to get that much-desired pop of blue color during the summertime. Prickly blooms turn into globe-like thistles that look stunning but have a offensive stench. Don't worry—you can pick the blooms, rinse the scent off them, and use them in arrangements.

13 of 17

14 of 17

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Perennial Geraniums

Credit: Dhoxax/Getty Images

Geranium 'Johnson's Blue'

Known as a true blue flower, this hybrid of geranium is something to brag about. It grows well throughout the South’s USDA zones, is drought resistant and disease resistant, and attracts butterflies and bees. Need we say more?

14 of 17

15 of 17

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

‘Heavenly Blue’ Morning Glory

Credit: nipastock/Getty Images

Ipomoea tricolor ‘Heavenly Blue’

Let these blue-hued friends roam wild—up a trellis, in a container, or wherever else in the garden you please. This annual species produces pure sky-blue flowers with yellow throats, making it just the eye-catching addition during its blooming period that can last from summer until frost.

15 of 17

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

16 of 17

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Blue Fan Flower

Credit: AndreiRybachuk/Getty Images

Scaevola aemula

You’ll know you’ve treaded into dreamy blue-violet waters when you see that this annual flower is also known as the “fairy fan-flower.” No matter which name you prefer, this plant known for its fan-shaped blooms and is heat- and drought-tolerant.

16 of 17

17 of 17

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

‘Cambridge Blue’ Lobelia

Credit: LailaRberg/Getty Images

Lobelia erinus ‘Cambridge Blue’

At first glance, you’ll think that honeysuckle got into the blue dye. This similar tubular, lipped flower is electric in color and full of personality. Grow it as a winter-to-spring annual, and expect to see it bloom in dense, compact clumpings.

17 of 17

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Kaitlyn Yarborough

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 17 French Hydrangeas
2 of 17 Virginia Bluebells
3 of 17 Blue Daisies
4 of 17 ‘Blue Boy' Cornflower
5 of 17 Grape Hyacinth
6 of 17 Lily of the Nile
7 of 17 Swan River Daisies
8 of 17 Balloon Flower
9 of 17 Forget-Me-Nots
10 of 17 Blue Petunias
11 of 17 Blue Phlox
12 of 17 'Blue Angel' Salvia
13 of 17 Sea Holly
14 of 17 Perennial Geraniums
15 of 17 ‘Heavenly Blue’ Morning Glory
16 of 17 Blue Fan Flower
17 of 17 ‘Cambridge Blue’ Lobelia

Share options

Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Login

Southern Living

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • About Us
  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Books from Southern Living
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
  • Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en Español this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
Southern Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. Southern Living is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporationthis link opens in a new tab All Rights Reserved. Southern Living may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.southernliving.com

View image

17 Breathtaking Blue Flowers for Your Garden
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.