Photo Credit: Pantone Color of the Year for 2020
The authority on color, Pantone is kicking off the new decade with Classic Blue as its color of the Year for 2020. The experts say that classic Blue brings peace and tranquility to the garden. Blue plants are the rarest color in horticulture but certainly a fun color to explore in the garden. Now that Pantone, the institute that sets the color trends for product developers across multiple industries, has announced that Classic Blue is the Color of the Year, you’ll start noticing this hue in fashion, home furnishings, industrial design, auto industry, as well as the garden.
Pantone says that the color is suggestive of the sky at dusk. The reassuring qualities of Pantone 19/4052 Classic Blue instill “calm, confidence, and connection”. They suggest that the blue hue “highlights our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era.”
Blue Plants are the Rarest Color in Horticulture
We had a hard time coming up with a list of ‘true’ blue flowering plants but there are definite plants that would fall into the “almost” blue category. Many blue flowers lean more toward the purple than a true blue. Did you know that blue adds a touch of calm to your garden?
Some of Our Favorite ‘Almost’ Blue Plants
Salvia ‘Black & Blue’. Photo Credit: Proven Winners
Salvia ‘Black & Blue’ – have bright cobalt blue flowers and attract birds, butterflies and hummingbirds love them. These easy-to-grow salvias tolerate partial shade, so they are perfect for tucking into shadier spaces where other salvias don’t thrive. Their flowers contract sharply with the black stems in summer. They are heat and drought tolerant. Flowers appear on spikes to 15” long over a long mid-summer to fall bloom.
‘Let’s Dance Rhythmic Blue’ Hydrangea
Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Let’s Dance Rhythmic Blue’ – Small (2’-3’) plant that can fit into any garden. Flowers can shift from deep pink to vibrant blue depending on how you treat the soil. (Adding aluminum sulfate to the soil encourages blue flowers). Or just enjoy the pink/blue/lavender colors. It’s wilt-resistant, stays tidy, likes moist soil and protection from the hottest afternoon sun.
Double Play Kazoo Spirea. Photo Credit: Proven Winners
Double Play Blue Kazoo spirea – an easy to grow shrub with blue foliage and white flowers. Requires minimal care. Grows well in lightly shaded conditions (4 to 6 hours of sun or filtered light all day). Not fussy about soil or watering. Needs so special pruning or other maintenance to keep its good looks.
‘Blueberry Sundae’ False Indigo Baptisia. Photo Credit: Proven Winners
‘Blueberry Sundae’ False Indigo Baptisia – A great compact, upright mound of blue-green foliage. Grows best in full sun and average to poor, well-drained soil. Flowers occur in late spring to early summer followed by decorative seed pods in fall which is great for fall interest. Great in landscapes and containers of all kinds.
Pugster Blue Buddleia Butterfly Bush – This compact dwarf shrub produces full-sized flowers and has appealing true-blue flowers that is hard to find in landscapes. It blooms non-stop from early summer through frost. They like full sun and well drained soil.
Blue Mist Shrub (Caryopteris x clandonensis). Photo Credit: Proven Winners
Blue Mist Shrub (Caryopteris x clandonensis) – A low-mounded, deciduous shrub that has aromatic foliage and late summer flowers. Flowers are attractive to butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. Likes well-drained soil and full sun. Cut back every spring to ensure sturdy, dense growth.
Here’s a nice video from Proven Winners of other plants with blue coloration.
Whitehouse Landscaping has a comprehensive knowledge of plants so that you get the right plant that grows to the right size for the right place in your yard.
Call us at 484-300-4290 or visit www.whitehouselandscaping.com to add some eye-catching ‘blue’ to your yard.