I know Stevenjen will have alot of suggestions for you, but I remember seeing his double holly-hocks & they were breathtaking! I don't even care for holly hocks much but these are something else! I'm not in your zone but liatris, morning glory, larkspur, walkers low, agastache, lupines & love in a mist...are some that I would try for your color. Some are annuals but good at reseeding.

Carol

Oh and I forgot Spiderwort.

Hi, I'm not in your zone either, but look at these pictures of Penstemons. They are almost to the end of the thread, 3/4 of the way down the page. They are beautiful!

Here is a link that might be useful: Blue Penstemon

My favorite blue in the garden is Plumbago. It loves the heat.

Marilyn

I second all of the above esp Plumbago.

See Sunset Western Garden Book for plants that do well coastal and in wind conditions---there may be some blues/purples plants listed there.

Scabiosa 'blue butterfly' is good in my garden---nearly year round blooms. Also various mums (they do go dormant in winter). Felicia is blue. Agapanthus. How about: ageratum, lobelia 'crystal palace', verbena, alyssum, vinca, petunia, maybe you will have luck with delphiniums (too hot for them to last here in Temecula, but they are so beautiful!), even if you have to replant. Some azaleas (Happy Days) and roses (Ebb Tide, Outta the Blue, etc). That's all I can think of for now.

Becky

There are many varieties of Salvia you could try---'Victoria Blue' and 'Blue Bedder' are nearly identical and are good bedding plants. I don't grow any of the larger salvias, but have heard many good things about salvia 'Black & Blue' and some others I can't think of right now. Maybe others here will chime in...

Stock is an annual, comes in all sorts of soft colors and should do well for you.

Impatiens is a virtually nonstop bloomer & it does very well in coastal gardens.

BTW I grew up in coastal San Diego County, and visit my Mom there often, so am pretty familiar with what does well there. Am guessing it may be quite similar to your climate?

Cuphea has little lavender flowers and blooms alot.

Be sure to also check with the good folks at the California Garden forum for ideas. The rose forum folks are a great help for rosey questions, as is Helpmefind Roses (online).

Good luck!!!

Please let us know how it goes.:-)
Becky

Hello!

I used to live in California. I love the ceanothus (aka California lilac) bushes, which have bright blue flowers. Ceanothus is low maintenance and draught tolerant. It grows all over California. I haven't yet managed to find it in New Mexico; would love to have some.

Russian sage has long stalks of purple flowers. I love plumbago, which is low growing. It is a good border plant, which spreads nicely. Plumbago has dark blue flowers. Speedwell, a type of Veronica, is a creeping ground cover with light blue flowers. I like my scabiosa plants (aka pincushion flowers) very much, they are evergreen. Catmint is a low growing, spreading bush with medium color blue flowers. All of the above mentioned are perennial and do well in sunny conditions.

There are types of scabiosa and Russian sage which have the word blue in their names, but the flowers are actually lavender or purple in color. The Russian sage flowers resemble lavender. They are not fragrant, but somehow they attract a lot of bees. I have seen hedges of Russian sage, which are quite attractive. They can grow to be about five feet high.

Mexican sage has beautiful, fuzzy, deep purple flowers with white accents. It lasts for years in California, but I haven't managed to get one to overwinter in New Mexico.

Blue flowers are my favorites. Can you tell? Good luck with your blue/purple garden.

Lorna

A few blues that come to mind...
Himalayan Blue Poppies
Agapanthus
Lithodora
Perennial Geraniums
Perennial Asters
Ajuga
Centaurea Montana
German Iris
Don't forget bulbs...
Chinodoxa
Grape Hyacinth
Hyacinths

Annette

A fantastic blue for warm climates is echium fastuosum, a.k.a. Pride of Madeira. Sort of like a xeriscape delphinium :-) I love plumbago as well and it loves it where I live. The little bulbs of iris hollandica also do well in my garden and unlike other bulbs return year after year.

I think you have a lot of blues to peruse here. I seem to recall we had a thread going on the gallery side calling for blues, you may try to look for it. I believe it was started by Steven.

Eduarda

I live a mile from the beach on S.F. bay, and below are some blues and purples that do fantastically well for me. Most of them are available from Annie's Annuals, and a lot of them are on my seed trade list. (-: It is cool and overcast here in the summer, and my garden is mostly shady. -I've indicated the light conditions I am growing them in.

Campanula media, "Canterbury Bells" Biennual -part sun
Campanula primulifolia, "Spanish Bellflower" Perennial -part sun/part shade
Dichroa febrifuga, "Evergreen Hydrangea" Shrub -Shade
Iris, "Pacfic Coast Hybrids" Perennial -Part sun/Sun
Orthrosanthus multiflorus, "Morning Flag" Perennial -Part sun/Sun
Pericallis x hybrida AKA "Florist's Cineraria" -"Stellata Mix" Perennial along the coast -part sun/part shade
Plectranthus,"Mona Lavender" Perennial -Part sun
Plectranthus zuluensis Perennial -Part sun
Pulmonaria saccharata, "Lungwort" -'Mrs. Moon' Perennial -part shade
Iochroma cyanea Shrub/Specimum -Part sun/Sun
Streptocarpus saxorum, "False African Violet" -ÂStrybing Perennial -Part Sun