purple spires, or, 'blue spikey flowers are why I garden'
gottagarden
17 years ago
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keesha2006
17 years agoego45
17 years agoRelated Discussions
Which spikey flower do you prefer?
Comments (15)For me agastache has been the most carefree of the orginal list. It's always is upright, tolerates disease and has a great winter interest. I love it but have to admit it's not the showiest plant in the garden. Salvia is a close second but is a little floppy. Liatris has been short lived - mostly I think due to predation from voles. Most veronicas have suffered from foliar disease. I loved 'Pink Damask' and leaves stayed clean but it died it's 1st winter. Culver's Root is a mainstay in the garden here but I was dissapointed in 'Fascination'. The stems are slightly twisted (fasciation - hence the name) and it fell over a bit. 'Apollo' is probabably my favorite. Check out Phlomis tuberosa 'Amazone' for a differant looking spike. Ted...See MoreFive favorite garden plants...or maybe 10 :)
Comments (33)Here's some cheating The rose family- which includes roses of course, and also allows me to include apache plume and cliffrose. The mint family- includes russian sage, salvia, lavender, agastache, thyme : ) Penstemons Needled evergreens ornamental grasses Oops even cheating, still went over five succulents I think what is clear is that I can't make a list of five....See MoreBlue / Purple Suggestions
Comments (8)Salvia guaranitica Black and Blue is a taller salvia that blooms nonstop for me and is very hardy. Ditto for salvia leucantha which blooms later in the summer and early fall. Baptisia australis is another dark blue flowering perennial that is drought tolerant. It blooms in mid spring but then has blue-gray leaves that are attractive and then you get the black seedheads later in the season. Although not tall and spiky, you could always have one of the many purple clematis weave its way through your roses....See MoreLooking for tall spikey plants for my garden
Comments (23)Salvia 'Indigo Spires' is a very tall Salvia with truly indigo blue blooms. (A lot of pics on the net don't do it justice.) Lillium regale gets to be almost 6 feet tall in my garden and has huge blooms that are maroonish pink on the outside, white on the inside. It's a spectacular plant and loves my cool coastal climate and shady garden. Campanula primulifolia is a bellflower that should be more widely used. It gets to be about 3 feet tall and is covered in starry lavender/blue blooms over a long period. -Reseeds too. Digitalis mertonensis, Strawberry Foxglove, has been a long-lived perennial for me and adds a nice spikey touch in an interesting shade of pink. I also like to use fancy regular foxgloves for this effect, like 'Candy Mountain', 'Camelot Mix', 'Pam's Choice'. Although it is only hardy to Zone 9, if I were you I would be tempted to push the zone envelope in a protected spot and try Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender'. It definitely gives that lavender like effect in a shady spot, and both the foliage and the flowers are spectacular. Here is a link that might be useful: Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender'...See Moredavid_5311
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