Blue Flowering Plants

Ajuga

Bronze-purple foliage with blue spikes. Fills bare shade in one season.

Anemone de Caen

Poppy-like flowers in jewel tones bloom in mid-spring over ferny foliage.

Anise Hyssop

Lavender-blue spikes with licorice-scented foliage. A pollinator powerhouse that blooms for months.

Aster

The grand finale of the garden season. Essential for fall pollinators.

Aubrieta

Purple cascades spilling over walls and rocks in spring. Shear after bloom for a fresh flush of foliage.

Bachelor's Button

True cornflower blue that almost no other flower can match. Cottage garden classic that self-sows reliably.

Big Bluestem

The signature grass of the tallgrass prairie, turning copper-bronze in fall with distinctive turkey-foot seed heads.

Bird of Paradise

Sculptural, crane-like flowers in orange and blue. Unmistakable.

Blue False Indigo

Lupine-like spikes on a native that lives forever. Gets better with age.

Blue Fescue

Steel-blue tufted mound. Perfect edging or rock garden accent.

Blue Flax

Delicate sky-blue flowers open each morning on airy stems over fine foliage.

Blue Oat Grass

Compact clumps of steel-blue blades provide year-round color and texture.

Borage

Star-shaped electric blue flowers that bees go absolutely wild for. Self-sows freely.

Brunnera

Clouds of tiny forget-me-not blue flowers over heart-shaped leaves. Thrives in dry shade once established.

Butterfly Bush

Long, arching flower wands that butterflies absolutely lose their minds over.

Caesar's Brother Siberian Iris

Tall stems hold rich violet-blue flowers above grassy foliage. The Siberian iris benchmark, blooming earlier and longer than bearded types.

California Lilac

Electric blue flower clusters on an evergreen California native. Hummingbird and bee magnet.

Camassia

Tall spikes of starry flowers rise above strappy foliage in late spring.

Campanula

Open, nodding bells in clear blue on tall graceful stems. Self-sows into refined cottage garden drifts.

Cat's Meow Catmint

Tidy, dome-shaped habit that never flops open. Stays compact without shearing.

Catmint

Billowy lavender-blue haze that blooms all season if you shear it back.

Chaste Tree

Long lavender-blue spikes cover this heat-loving shrub all summer. One of the few shrubs that actually blooms in August.

Clematis

The queen of flowering vines. Over 300 species, something for every spot.

Columbine

Delicate, spurred flowers that dance on wiry stems. Hummingbird favorite.

Creeping Phlox

An evergreen sun-loving groundcover that smothers walls, slopes, and rock gardens in dense pink, purple, blue, lavender, or white sheets every April and May.

Culinary Sage

Spiky purple blooms above silver-green aromatic foliage. A kitchen herb that doubles as an ornamental.

Delphinium

Towering spires of true blue. The tallest, most dramatic back-of-border plant.

Dutch Iris

Slender stems bear elegant iris blooms in late spring to early summer.

Dwarf Crested Iris

Tiny lavender-blue iris flowers with gold crests on a spreading native ground cover. A spring woodland treasure.

Elliott's Bluestar

Pale blue starry flowers in spring give way to feathery foliage that turns brilliant gold in fall. Two seasons of beauty for zero effort.

Endless Summer Hydrangea

Reblooms on old and new wood, so you get flowers even after a harsh winter. Color shifts with soil pH.

Forget-me-not

Clouds of tiny sky-blue flowers carpet the ground in spring. Self-sows freely under shrubs and around tulips.

Globe Thistle

Perfectly spherical steel-blue globes on white stems that dry to perfection. Bees are absolutely obsessed.

Glory-of-the-Snow

Star-shaped blooms that appear as snow melts. Naturalizes into drifts.

Grape Hyacinth

Tiny grape-like clusters that spread into rivers of blue over time.

Great Blue Lobelia

Intense blue flower spikes that hummingbirds and bumblebees fight over in late summer. The bolder, taller cousin of cardinal flower.

Hyacinth

Dense, intensely fragrant spikes. One bulb can perfume an entire room.

Hydrangea

Massive mophead blooms that shift color with soil pH. Showstoppers.

Iris

Elegant sword-leaved perennials with intricate, ruffled blooms.

Japanese Iris

Huge, flat, ruffled blooms up to 10 inches across. Needs consistent moisture, especially during bloom.

Larkspur

Tall spires of spurred flowers in deep blue and purple. The annual cousin of delphinium, easier to grow from seed and just as dramatic.

Lavender

Fragrant silver-green mounds beloved by bees and humans alike.

Lisianthus

Rose-like ruffled blooms with the vase life of a chrysanthemum. The flower farmer's secret weapon for high-end arrangements.

Lungwort

Flowers open pink and turn blue on the same stem. Silver-spotted foliage looks great all season.

Lupine

Dramatic spikes in every color. Short-lived but self-seeds generously.

Monkshood

Deep indigo-blue hooded flowers on tall spikes in late summer. One of the few genuinely blue flowers that grows in shade.

Morning Glory

Fast-climbing vine with trumpets that open fresh every morning.

Mountain Bluebell

Sky-blue bell flowers on tall arching stems along mountain streams. The showy western cousin of Virginia Bluebell.

Native Spiderwort

Three-petaled flowers in blue-purple open fresh each morning on a tough native that blooms for weeks and seeds freely.

Nigella

Sky-blue flowers wreathed in feathery green bracts give way to ornamental striped seed pods. Self-sows freely once you start.

Nikko Blue Hydrangea

The classic blue mophead. Rich, true blue in acidic soil. A cottage garden essential.

Pickerelweed

Spikes of violet-blue flowers above glossy arrow-shaped leaves. Native pond and stream bank staple.

Plumbago

Sky-blue phlox-like clusters bloom nonstop in warm climates. The blue flower that thrives where most blues melt in summer heat.

Prairie Sky Switchgrass

The bluest foliage of any switchgrass, with airy pink seed clouds drifting above in late summer.

Rocky Mountain Columbine

Large blue-and-white spurred flowers bloom in late spring above lacy foliage.

Rocky Mountain Penstemon

Spikes of deep blue tubular flowers rise above glossy evergreen foliage in early summer.

Rose of Sharon

A cold-hardy hibiscus shrub (Hibiscus syriacus) with big tropical-looking blooms in lavender, pink, blue, white, or wine, opening late summer when most flowering shrubs are done.

Rosemary

Aromatic evergreen herb with tiny blue flowers loved by early bees. Needs excellent drainage.

Rozanne Geranium

Violet-blue saucer flowers on a sprawling mound that blooms from late spring until frost. The most awarded perennial geranium in history.

Russian Sage

Airy lavender clouds on silver stems. Thrives in heat and poor soil.

Salvia

Vertical flower spikes that hummingbirds and bees cannot resist.

Scilla

Carpets of brilliant blue that naturalize under trees with zero effort.

Sea Holly

Metallic blue bracts and cones turn the whole plant a vivid silvery-blue. Otherworldly and completely drought-proof.

Speedwell

Tidy spikes of blue that add vertical punch to the front of the border.

Statice

Stiff papery flower clusters that dry to keep their color for years. A cut-flower farmer staple for wreaths and dried bouquets.

Stokes Aster

Fringed, shaggy-petaled flowers in shades of cornflower blue that bloom for weeks on a tough Southern native.

Texas Blue Star

Fine foliage and pale blue starry flowers are followed by golden fall color.

The President Clematis

Big, rich violet-blue flowers with silvery reverse petals rebloom through the season on a vigorous, reliable plant.

Triteleia

Loose umbels of starry blue trumpets on tall wiry stems. Western native bulb that thrives on summer drought.

Trumpet Gentian

Intense, almost electric blue trumpet flowers on a low mat. The holy grail of alpine gardeners.

Tuff Stuff Hydrangea

Reblooming mountain hydrangea with delicate lacecap blooms. Takes more cold than macrophyllas and keeps flowering after harsh winters.

Vinca

Evergreen mat with periwinkle-blue flowers. Tough shade ground cover.

Virginia Bluebell

Woodland ephemeral with sky-blue bells. Disappears by summer, returns faithfully.

Walker's Low Catmint

Perennial Plant of the Year. Billowy lavender-blue spikes that rebloom hard after a shear.

Wild Blue Phlox

Loose clusters of sky-blue flowers float above woodland floors in spring on a fragrant, mat-forming native.

Wisteria

Cascading, fragrant racemes that create a dreamy canopy. Needs structure.