All Things Blue in the Garden

While harvesting blueberries at a friends? garden I started thinking of the color blue and why it appeals to all of us gardeners. I was taking care of this fabulous garden while the owners were out of town so I had a lot of time to enjoy all of the plants including the blue flowering ones.

Blueberries-fresh off the bush- delicious

The color blue, especially in the summer, soothes our senses. Soft blues will calm the mind and aid concentration. Strong blues can stimulate clear thoughts. I?m not sure if the different blueberries fall into this category but I sure enjoyed tasting each of them.

Of the 4 different types of blueberries I harvested I think I liked O?Neal, a variety of Southern high bush, the best.
The large light blue early South Moon were also delicious as were the Blueray and Bluecrop. Although many blueberry species are considered self-fertile, all blueberry bushes benefit from cross-pollination and produce larger and more full flavored crops with another bush nearby. To ensure bees carry pollen from one bush to another, space them within 6 feet of each other.

The author’s hydrangea garden

When the weather gets hot I head to the part of my garden where the blue hydrangeas are blooming. I have several mophead types that vary in color from sky blue to deep blue. One is almost blue-violet this year although I didn?t add anything to the soil this winter to make it more acidic. I don?t have any lacecap varieties so I took a cutting of a spectacular Mariesii variegated one at the garden I was tending. It?s the white in both the foliage and the flower that makes the rest of the blue blossoms really standout.

True blue flowers are rare. We use words like cerulean, azure, cobalt, sapphire, turquoise, electric blue or steel blue when describing blue flowers. Hybridizers have tried for years to produce a true blue rose or blue daylily. Blue plant pigment is hard to manipulate. It occurs in the daylily as a sap-soluble pigment and is difficult to segregate. Lilacs, purples, orchids and mauves we have and working with them hybridizers may eventually get near blue, but pure blue probably never.

Rose hybridizers striving for true blue have come close by crossbreeding lavender hybrid teas in order to produce offspring having optimum amount of cyanidin, The results have been more of a silvery lilac or mauve. A blue rose is still in the future although labs in Australia and Japan are genetically modifying the pigments from petunias to produce a blue rose. Their results are not yet perfected and these roses are more of a lilac in color and can not survive conditions outside the lab. It is apparently very difficult to isolate the pigment cyanadin. Delphiniums have a monopoly on it.

There are many blue perennials as handsome as they are durable that we can enjoy in our gardens today.
Besides the old fashioned hydrangea, there are violas and campanulas. I?m also growing a blue impatien called ?Blue Diamond? that attracts the hummingbirds. All are valuable in the shade garden along with omphaloides and brunnera. The blue spikes of a long blooming peach-leaf campanula just go together with the white and green variegated foliage of Jack Frost Siberian bugloss.

In early spring we are dazzled by our native ceanothus which bloom with deep blue, sky blue or electric blue flowers. Emerald Blue phlox subulata carpets the ground in spring with clear blue flowers. Penstemon heterophyllus, a California native hybrid, carries dense spikes of bright blue, bell-shaped blossoms.

Make sure your garden has a blue section to cool you on a hot day.

Increase your Collection of Tall Bearded Iris

Last May I was fortunate to be able to spend the morning in Scotts Valley painting the tall bearded iris growing at Jim and Irene Cummins place. On their property they grow hundreds of varieties and if you are an aficionado of this regal flower you have a chance to add to your collection when the Monterey Bay Iris Society hosts their annual sale. Your first opportunity is at Deer Park in Aptos on August 4th from 9:00-noon and another sale takes place at Cabrillo Farmer?s Market on August 11th also from 9:00-noon.

Joe Ghio 2016 tall bearded iris hybrid

Jim and Irene welcomed my group of fellow artists sharing the history of their property and their growing tips. Amidst the beds of prized bearded iris is an impressive antique farming implement collection. This historic property dates back to 1849 when an older house was built as a stagecoach stop where a fresh team of horses could be changed out.

Jim told me that considering the history of the property he and Irene started displaying the old stuff they had and decided to add more by going to auctions and yard sales. Everywhere you look they have created an interesting vignette of plants and artifacts. Displayed on the old barn is an impressive vintage wrench collection as well as dozens of spigot handles. Antique tractor seats, watering cans, washing tubs, rusted bed frames, wagons, old kiddie cars- you name it, Jim and Irene have collected it.

Handmade birdhouses with vintage watering can collection

Due to the abundance of old wood on the property Jim said he started building Irene birdhouses. With so many interesting things to enjoy I had a hard time deciding what to paint. I took dozens of photos but settled on capturing their magnificent tall bearded iris in full bloom.

Jim is on the board of the Tall Bearded Iris Society (TBIS) and is also active in Historic Iris Preservation Society. As I walked around the blooming iris beds I noticed many had the name of Joe Ghio as their hybridizer. Some of the Cummins original rhizomes were collected from him as well as other iris gardens in the area. Early on they could only afford to buy a few of their older and less expensive offerings but as their garden began to grow they joined the Monterey Bay Iris Society.

The Cummins iris farm has been so successful that in 2019 when the National Convention is being hosted by Region 14 their garden will be one of the host gardens on the tour.

Antique wagon with old milk cans

When I asked Jim for the growing tips that make his iris so spectacular he told me he mostly uses lawn trimmings and tree leaves along with their native sand to break the soil down. ?Iris don?t seem to care much as to soil type, they just need good drainage?, he said. He fertilizes with a balanced granular 15-15-15 fertilizer, using only an 1/8 cup or less sprinkled around each clump around Valentines Day and again in August or September. Another tip he told me was to be sure to plant the rhizomes real shallow with the tops showing and about 12-18 inches apart. They water every 2-3 weeks although he says they can go longer between irrigations.

At the upcoming sales, there will be a ?How to Grow Iris? handout available as well as many member of the society available to answer question. At $4 each for these spectacular iris or 20 for $60 adding to or starting an iris collection may just be in your future.