Pantone has announced Classic Blue as its Color of the Year 2020.
But what does this mean for our industry? While blue is actually quite a rare natural pigment in nature, Mr Plant Geek explains that there's still plenty of potential. On his blog, he lists some of his favorite blue plants:
- Muscari – "This little spring delight is perfect for creating a carpet of blue beneath trees and shrubs. It’s incredibly easy to grow, and will multiply over the years, perhaps a little bit more than you’d like it too!"
- Delphiniums – "These are tall and elegant, and come in many different shades of blue. Cut them down after flowering to initiate a second flush, that’s one of gardening's best kept secrets!"
- Pansy Frizzle Sizzle – "Pansies are amazing, but have you ever seen one with ruffled petals? Part of the innovative “frizzle sizzle series, this is a deep ocean blue, perfect for cool season containers."
- Echinops – "The globe thistle, it’s an amazing Hardy perennial, which fits well into cottage garden borders. It will grow on most types of soil, and makes a handsome bushy plant, with these blue spheres all through the summer."
- Cornflowers - "Easy to grow blue and your colour, look no further than cornflowers. You simply throw and sow, scattering the seed where you want it to flower. Look out for “Blue Diadem”, that’s the very best shade of blue you can find."
- Petunia Night Sky – "This amazing Petunia has been flying off the garden centre shelves for a few seasons now. It was a chance finding in a crop of blue purple petunias, and is prized for the speckles in the centre! A summer must!"
- Plumbago – "A Vining plant that enjoys a warm summer, I often find this looks a bit like a blue flowered climbing geranium, so until the breeders can make that I’ll settle for this next best thing."
- Clitoria ternatea – "Perhaps one of the best blues in the natural world, this plant is often used as a natural dye. It’s actually easier to grow than you imagine, creating a vining plant that will give you these little blue flowers during the summer, often quite late, but worth the wait."
- Hydrangea – "The classic plant the Madonna is documented as hating! Hydrangeas have been grown for many years across Europe, and I one of the easiest and most adaptable shrubs. Having said that, they do like to be kept moist at all times. On an acid so, you can also experience the very best blue!"
If you're looking for more inspiration, Florismart also lists some blue flowers, as well as flowers in complementary colors that could ride the wave of blue that's expected to wash over 2020.