Song sung blue, every garden grows one…

Blue is well represented in nature when it comes to flower colours. There are many blue flowers that come to mind, whether they are slightly blue, mixed-blue shades, purple-blue, or whatever: blue stands out and is a prominant flower colour in most gardens as well as in natural settings.



In fact, blue flowers used to be extremely rare, but evolved due to pollinators like honey bees that happen to have a preference for the colour blue. Having bee-friendly gardens with flowers, including blue flowers that both we and bees really appreciate, is a convenient, pleasurable, and potentially important contribution towards a sustainable future. Basically, if we plant and maintain a good variety of flowers, the pollinating insects will come.

The colour blue complements most other colours, especially orange and yellow flowers. Grey- and silver-foliaged plants e.g. Helichrysum spp. also go extremely well with blue-tinted flowers.

According to Wikipedia, a blue flower stands for desire, love, and inspiration, and symbolizes hope and the beauty of things. It is a flower that represents the metaphysical striving for the impossible and infinite.



Consider planting these blue flowers indigenous to Southern Africa: Agapanthus spp., Plumbago auriculata, Felecia amelloides, Plectranthus spp., Tulbaghia violacea (Wild Garlic), Centaurea cyanus (Corn Flower), Lobelia spp., Arctotis (African Daisy), Scabiosa spp., Salvia spp., Babiana hypogaea, Barleria repens, Myosotis sylvatica, Limonium perezii (Statice), Buddleia spp., Freylinea spp.
Fancy a more exotic perspective? Hydrangea spp., Hibiscus spp., Lavenders, Ipomoea spp. (Morning Glory), Thunbergia grandiflora, Wisteria sinensis (Blue rain), Petrea volubilus (Sandpaper Vine), Consolida spp. (Lark Spur), Pansies, Viola spp. and Cinerarias.
Roses lack a natural plant pigment known as delphinidin, which gives certain types of flowers, like geraniums and pansies, a blue colour. A Japanese company have created the Suntory Blue rose which is not truly blue, but more like lavender. Other roses that lean towards blue are Blue Moon (lilac/blue), Ocean Blue (lilac) and Ocean Song (pale lavender).

Most importantly, each of us should be contributing to the pollinating honeybees, by planting some blue flowers in our gardens for their preference. Blue is a calming and peaceful colour, and this is exactly what our garden should resemble under the bright skies of Africa… a desire for a fresh start and a wave of hope and optimism.

Eugene le Roux



AgriTurf: Marco de Wet
Cell: 081 600 9584



Pupkewitz Megabuild:
Eugene le Roux
Horticulturist
Cell: 081 124 6965